Objective: Few studies have addressed use of resources in police interventions involving individuals with mental illness. The time police officers spend on interventions is a straightforward measure with significant administrative weight, given that it addresses human resource allocation. This study compared the characteristics of police interventions involving individuals with mental illness and a control sample of individuals without mental illness. Methods: A total of 6,128 police interventions in Montreal, Québec, were analyzed by using a retrospective analysis of police intervention logs from three days in 2006. Interventions involving citizens with (N=272) and without (N=5,856) mental illness were compared by reason for the intervention, the use of arrest, and the use of police resources. Results: Police interventions involving individuals with mental illness were less likely than those involving individuals without mental illness to be related to more severe offenses. However, interventions for minor offenses were more likely to lead to arrest when they involved citizens with mental illness. Interventions for reasons of equal severity were twice as likely to lead to arrest if the citizen involved had a mental illness. After controlling for the use of arrest and the severity of the situation, the analysis showed that police interventions involving individuals with mental illness used 87% more resources than interventions involving individuals without mental illness. Conclusions: Future studies using administrative police data sets could investigate the use of resources and division of costs involved in new programs or partnerships to better address the interface of criminal justice and mental health care.

Education and partnerships between police services and mental health services are essential to a proper management of outcomes.

Les interventions policières à l’égard des personnes itinérantes font souvent l’objet de contestations sur la place publique, en particulier lorsqu’il y a émission de constats d’infraction en vertu des règlements municipaux. L’analyse présentée explore la surreprésentation de la population itinérante de Montréal parmi les personnes qui ont reçu au moins un constat d’infraction, pour la période 2005-2009. Les résultats indiquent que les personnes itinérantes reçoivent en moyenne trois fois plus de constats que la population non itinérante. Par contre, les trois quarts d’entre elles ne courraient pas le risque de recevoir un constat d’infraction au cours d’une année. Les résultats obtenus mettent en perspective la vision alarmiste souvent véhiculée par les médias.

Individuals experiencing both homelessness and mental illness have high rates of interaction with public safety and criminal justice institutions. Several cross-sector diversion programs have been developed over the past decades as alternatives to incarceration. Most of these initiatives rely on the commitment and expertise of frontline practitioners from different sectors and backgrounds. This research examines the perspectives of frontline practitioners regarding practices and policies that target justice involvement of individuals experiencing both homelessness and mental health issues in a Canadian urban context. Findings from focus groups with 55 participants drawn from the police, the community and public health and social services sectors indicate that frontline practitioners value and support close proximity in cross-sector action, while raising ethical and legal issues related to this type of practice. Participants also describe how exclusion from services for this population, lack of involvement from corrections, housing, and forensic mental health services, and ineffective use of involuntary treatment mechanisms shape and constrain frontline practice. The findings of this article give voice to the specific concerns of frontline service providers. Given these findings, we suggest potential strategies to better serve individuals who are identified as “harder to serve” but who might also benefit from diversion from the criminal justice system.

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