Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training: Selection Effects and Long-Term Changes in Perceptions of Mental Illness and Community Preparedness

Abstract

Survey data were used to assess how training affects changes in officers' perceptions of persons with mental illness as well as perceptions of police and the mental health system's preparedness in addressing their needs. Officers' confidence in their ability to handle calls involving people with mental illness in crisis increased most over time. Exploratory analysis indicated that this increase was positively associated with the pretraining degree to which people with mental illness in crisis present a problem for the police department. This increase was positively associated with the perception that the police department's overall effectiveness in meeting the needs of people with mental illness in crisis and negatively associated with the degree to which mental illness was believed to be caused by parental upbringing. These findings suggest that initial salience of the problem for the police department posed by those with mental illness is critical to CIT officer eventual "success."

Understanding the role of service providers, land use, and resident characteristics on the occurrence of mental health crisis calls to the police

“…There have been major strides in the development of programs to improve police response to a mental health crisis, such as crisis intervention teams (CIT) and the co‐responder model. These programs are primarily aimed at de‐escalation training, building collaborative partnerships with mental health agencies, and diverting individuals from the criminal justice system (Bonfine, Ritter, & Munetz, ; Reuland, ; Ritter, Teller, Munetz, & Bonfine, ; Teller, Munetz, Gil, & Ritter, ; Watson et al, ), and thus are predominantly reactive—responding to crises and then following up with high‐risk individuals in an effort to facilitate treatment and prevent future crises. Despite a recent focus by police on crime hot spots, police efforts largely fail to consider the utility of spatial concentration of mental health calls for targeted, prevention efforts.…”

The role of stigma and uncertainty in moderating the effect of procedural justice on cooperation and resistance in police encounters with persons with mental illnesses.

“…CIT, which features both specialized officer training and service system alteration, is particularly popular, with over 1,000 programs currently operating in over 39 states. The emerging body of research suggests CIT is effective for improving safety and linkage to mental health services (Compton et al, 2011; Morabito, Kerr, Watson, Draine, Ottati, & Angell, 2012; Ritter, Teller, Munetz, & Bonfine, 2010; Watson, 2010). While it is important to examine the effects of these programs on arrest rates, diversion to treatment, use of force, and frequency of officer injury, additional questions regarding the mechanism of effects likewise remain unanswered.…”

Mental Health Street Triage

“…These include: Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) where police officers have special mental health training to provide crisis intervention services and to act as liaisons to the formal mental health system (Morabito et al, 2012;Canada et al, 2010;Compton et al, 2010;Fisher and Grudzinskas, 2010;Ritter et al, 2010); and the Co-Responder model (most similar to that being trialled in England) which partners mental health professionals with law enforcement at the scene to provide consultation on mental health-related issues and assist individuals in accessing treatments and supports (Rosenbaum, 2010;Reuland et al, 2009). Steadman et al (2000 compared the outcomes of three major models of police responses to mental health emergencies in the USA -including the CIT/ Police Officer model; a variation on the CIT/Police…”