New program designed to improve law enforcement responses to the mentally ill

The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs today announced the release of a publication designed to improve law enforcement responses to people with mental illnesses.  The report shows there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but a growing number of communities are implementing Specialized Policing Responses (SPRs) that are designed to improve outcomes and encounters involving people with mental illnesses.  Effective SPRs share many common features, but programs also differ in some important ways. These programmatic variations generally stem from a community's unique needs, opportunities, and limitations.

The report explores the program design process for a variety of SPR models—including crisis intervention teams, law enforcement/mental health co-response teams, and case management approaches—that take into account such factors as jurisdiction size, demographics, mental health and law enforcement agency resources, and relevant state laws.  It also considers how the design may vary depending on the type of problem (such as officer and public safety, frequent repeat calls for service, inefficient or ineffective use of resources, and poor outcomes for people with mental illnesses) that jurisdiction leaders most want to address.