Training police as specialists in family crisis intervention: A community psychology action program

Abstract

Training police in family crisis intervention is intended to demonstrate innovative crime prevention and mental health techniques, utilizing selected police officers. There is evidence that police are currently engaged in a variety of quasi-mental health roles with little or no relevant training and that this lack of training, often personally dangerous, represents an opportunity lost to society for preventing crime and for relieving manpower shortages in mental health.Successful completion of the project, which is organized in three stages (Preparatory, Operational, and Evaluative) over a two-year period, may permit the development of a curriculum for use by other police family crisis units.

Confronting the Complexities of Domestic Violence: A Social Prescription for Rethinking Police Training

“…An early publication by the U.S. Department of Justice (Bard, 1970) claimed that 22% of all police officers murdered in the line of duty were killed during domestic violence calls and went on to describe family disturbance as the single most dangerous call for police officers. This finding was based on annual FBI statistics that contained information on law enforcement fatalities (Law Enforcement Officers Killed in Action [LEOKA]).…”

Mental health training and consultation with suburban police

“…Strained police-community relations in the sixties tended to obscure this factor. A large portion of police time is absorbed in service functions of all kinds (Bard & Berkowitz, 1967). Police are summoned by citizens in response to every conceivable emergency (Cumming, Cumming, & Edell, 1965).…”

Police training in domestic crises: A suburban approach

“…Suburban areas have smaller police forces that serve smaller populations. It was not practical to design a program such as the New York one (Bard & Berkowitz, 1967) which requires a large group of officers to participate for extended periods of time. Though suburban police frequently encounter family crises, they are not so numerous as those produced through urban squeeze and tension.…”

“…The mutual police-mental health decision for this program was based on the following: (1) Urban police statistics report that half the calls to police for assistance may involve family crisis or other complaints of a personal or interpersonal nature (Bard & Berkowitz, 1967). (2) FBI records from [1961][1962][1963][1964][1965][1966][1967][1968][1969][1970][1971] reflect that 22% of all police officers killed and 44% of those injured were on family disturbance calls at the time (Gibson, Stand, & Cormack, 1973); onethird of all homicides are the outgrowth of family disturbances according to FBI report.…”