Design of an algorithm to identify persons with mental illness in a police administrative database

Hartford, Kathleen; Heslop, Lisa; Stitt, Larry; Hoch, Jeffrey S.

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.12.001

Cited by 45 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Borzecki and Wormith (1985) cited in K. Hartford et al (2005) argue that for this thesis to hold two conditions need to apply. There needs to be higher levels of contact between mentally ill people and the police than the wider population and the arrest rate for those experiencing mental health problems would have to be shown to be higher.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There needs to be higher levels of contact between mentally ill people and the police than the wider population and the arrest rate for those experiencing mental health problems would have to be shown to be higher. Hartford et al (2005) study is a statistical analysis of police recording of contacts and responses to calls in Ontario. The study confirmed the greater risk that people with mental health problems face in contacts with the police.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, studies of police attitudes and practice indicate that arrest is seen by officers as a way of ensuring that a psychiatric assessment is carried out. (Hartford et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Path Not Taken? Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System

Cummins¹

2007

Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Path Not Taken? Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System

Cummins¹

2007

Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law

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“…Because of their around-the-clock accessibility, they are exposed to an extensive range of situations and to citizens from all walks of life, including individuals with mental illness (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). Even though encounters with individuals with mental illness represent a small proportion of all police interactions (7)(8)(9)(10), their repetitive nature, elevated association with arrest, and sometimes fatal outcome raise important concerns. Furthermore, in the past decade, police services have shown greater interest in finding more efficient ways to allocate resources and training for interacting with individuals with mental illness, leading to the creation of various diversion programs and specialized intervention teams (11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for in situ observation, accessing large enough samples is extremely costly and time consuming. Hartford and others (9) proposed an efficient and accurate alternative to identify interactions between police services and citizens with mental illness. Using a police administrative database, they developed an algorithm that helps identify indicators of a possible mental health problem.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Police Encounters Involving Citizens With Mental Illness: Use of Resources and Outcomes

Charette¹,

Crocker²,

Billette³

2014

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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.

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Pre‐arrest diversion of people with mental illness: literature review and international survey

Hartford

Carey²,

Mendonça³

2006

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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Mental health diversion is a process where alternatives to criminal sanctions are made available to persons with mental illness (PMI) who have come into contact with the law. One form of mental health diversion is pre-arrest, in which the police use their discretion in laying charges. Concomitant with the growth of pre-arrest diversion programs is a growing body of research devoted to the phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature of pre-arrest diversion, and to report the results of an international survey of pre-arrest diversion programs we conducted to identify evidence-based practices. On the basis of our review and survey, we note that successful pre-trial programs appear to integrate relevant mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice agencies by having regular meetings between key personnel from the various agencies. Often, a liaison person with a mandate to effect strong leadership plays a key role in the coordination of various agencies. Streamlining services through the creation of an emergency drop-off center with a no-refusal policy for police cases is seen as crucial. While there is some indication that mentally ill offenders benefit from their participation in this form of diversion, the evaluative literature has not yet achieved the "critical mass" necessary to create generalizable, evidence-based knowledge. The absence of generally agreed-upon outcomes could lead to the inequitable application of basic principles of diversion. We suggest that indicators, benchmarks, and outcomes must be agreed upon if a comprehensive understanding of pre-arrest programs is to emerge.

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Design of an algorithm to identify persons with mental illness in a police administrative database

Cited by 45 publications

References 18 publications

A Path Not Taken? Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System

A Path Not Taken? Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System

Police Encounters Involving Citizens With Mental Illness: Use of Resources and Outcomes

Pre‐arrest diversion of people with mental illness: literature review and international survey

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