Research in the Real World: Studying Chicago Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team Program

Abstract

Police agencies across the country are struggling to respond to significant number of persons with serious mental illness, who are landing on their doorsteps with sometimes tragic consequences. Arguably, the most widely adopted approach, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, is a specialized police-based program designed to improve officers' ability to safely and effectively respond to mental health crises. Conducting research on CIT is challenging; thus, the evidence base is limited. In this article, the author reviews the emerging literature, present a conceptual model of CIT effectiveness, and describe a study of CIT in Chicago. Findings from Chicago suggest that CIT is increasing linkage to services and reducing use of force in encounters with persons with mental illness. Lessons learned are discussed.

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.…”

CIT in small municipalities: Officer‐level outcomes

“…While this study attempts to increase the evidence base for officer‐level CIT outcomes and improve upon the methodological rigor of the research, there are limitations. As others have noted, conducting CIT research in the real world is difficult for a variety of reasons (Compton et al, ; Watson, ). Despite the significant results with large effect sizes for 7 of 11 dependent variables, this is a small sample.…”

“…While these findings broaden the empirical base, they also point to specific difficulties in conducting research on CIT. Much has already been written in the literature about the difficulties inherent in conducting research on CIT given its far‐reaching organizational and systemic impacts within a community (Compton et al, 2008, ; Watson, ; Watson et al, , ). While all of these issues are experienced by all researchers and police departments that have implemented CIT, this research highlights additional difficulties experienced when attempting to conduct research with small police departments that have implemented CIT.…”

Mental Health Crisis 911 Calls, Resources, and Inequality

“…There is a burgeoning research area that examines how effective specialized mental health crisis training is for police officers who respond to these calls, as well as the effectiveness of jaildiversion programs to minimize arrest rates for those experiencing a mental health crisis that results in police intervention. For example, there is a plethora of research on the effectiveness of the Crisis Intervention Team model for improving the safety of police interactions (for police, the public, and the individual experiencing a mental health crisis) and successfully diverting individuals away from arrest and toward emergency psychiatric referral (Compton et al 2014;Compton et al 2008;Watson 2010). This model of training, established by the National Alliance of Mental Illness, is considered to be the "gold standard" in law enforcement mental health training and educates police officers on topics including: medications and side effects; alcohol and drug assessment; suicide prevention; personality disorders; co-occurring disorders; posttraumatic stress disorders; and crisis de-escalation training (DuPont, Cochran, and Pillsbury 2007).…”