Abstract
Studies show that encounters between police officers and people with mental illness occur frequently and can prove to be challenging and, in some cases, dangerous for all parties involved. Little is known about how officers perceive interactions with persons with a mental health condition. This study addresses this research gap by examining frequencies, request for police dispatch, challenges, and subjective perceptions of such interactions. A total of 958 police officers from Hamburg (Germany) completed a questionnaire assessing the frequency of police dispatches involving persons with mental illness, including request for police dispatch and subjective challenges and perceptions associated with the interaction. Findings suggest that the majority of officers experienced interactions with persons with mental illness as conflictual due to behaviors they perceived as unpredictable and irrational including verbal and physical aggressions. The data also showed significant differences between female and male officers in regard to what they perceived as challenging. A total of 27.9% of officers felt anxious during the interactions. Less knowledge about mental health problems was associated with greater anxiety. The study revealed the German police officers’ subjective perception of police dispatches involving people with mental illness. The results underline the importance of fostering a partnership between the police and the mental health care system in day-to-day police routine practices and through education and training programs. Training should focus on improving the recognition of mental disorders and specific communication skills.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angermeyer MC, Carta MG, Matschinger H, Millier A, Refaï T, Schomerus G, Toumi M (2016) Cultural differences in stigma surrounding schizophrenia: comparison between Central Europe and North Africa. Br J Psychiatry 208(4):389–397. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.154260
Baksheev GN, Thomas SDM, Ogloff JRP (2010) Psychiatric disorders and unmet needs in Australian police cells. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 44(11):1043–1051. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048674.2010.503650
Canada KE, Angell B, Watson AC (2012) Intervening at the entry point: differences in how CIT trained and non-CIT trained officers describe responding to mental health-related calls. Community Ment Health J 48(6):746–755. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9430-9
Charette Y, Crocker AG, Billette I (2014) Police encounters involving citizens with mental illness: use of resources and outcomes. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.) 65(4):511–516. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300053
de Tribolet-Hardy F, Kesic D, Thomas SDM (2015) Police management of mental health crisis situations in the community: status quo, current gaps and future directions. Polic Soc 25(3):294–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2013.865737
Douglas KS, Guy LS, Hart SD (2009) Psychosis as a risk factor for violence to others: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 135(5):679–706. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016311
Finzen A (2014) Polizei-Interventionen - jeder dritte Tote war psychisch krank. Psychiatr Prax 41(01):50–52. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1336908
Fisher WH, Simon L, Roy-Bujnowski K, Grudzinskas AJ, Wolff N, Crockett E, Banks S (2011) Risk of arrest among public mental health services recipients and the general public. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.) 62(1):67–72. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.1.pss6201_0067
Heyman I, McGeough E (2018) Cross-disciplinary partnerships between police and health services for mental health care. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 25(5–6):283–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12471
Holloway-Beth A, Forst L, Lippert J, Brandt-Rauf S, Freels S, Friedman L (2016) Risk factors associated with legal interventions. Injury Epidemiology 3(1):2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-016-0067-6
Jacobi F, Höfler M, Siegert J, Mack S, Gerschler A, Scholl L, Busch MA, Hapke U, Maske U, Seiffert I, Gaebel W, Maier W, Wagner M, Zielasek J, Wittchen H-U (2014) Twelve-month prevalence, comorbidity and correlates of mental disorders in Germany: the Mental Health Module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1-MH). Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 23(3):304–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.1439
James SL, Abate, D, Abate KH et al. (2018) Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 392(10190):1789–1858. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32279-7
Jorm AF (2000) Mental health literacy. Public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders. The British Journal of Psychiatry : The Journal of Mental Science 177:396–401. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.177.5.396
Kane E, Evans E, Mitsch J, Jilani T, Quinlan P, Cattell J, Khalifa N (2018) Police interactions and interventions with suspects flagged as experiencing mental health problems. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health : CBMH 28(5):424–432. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.2078
Kesic D, Thomas SDM, Ogloff JRP (2010) Mental illness among police fatalities in Victoria 1982–2007: case linkage study. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 44(5):463–468. https://doi.org/10.3109/00048670903493355
Kesic D, Thomas SDM, Ogloff JRP (2013) Estimated rates of mental disorders in, and situational characteristics of, incidents of nonfatal use of force by police. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 48(2):225–232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0543-4
Kessler RC, Wang PS (2008) The descriptive epidemiology of commonly occurring mental disorders in the United States. Annu Rev Public Health 29(1):115–129. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090847
Krameddine YI, Silverstone PH (2015) How to improve interactions between police and the mentally ill. Frontiers in Psychiatry 5:186. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00186
Link BG, Phelan JC, Bresnahan M, Stueve A, Pescosolido BA (1999) Public conceptions of mental illness: labels, causes, dangerousness, and social distance. Am J Public Health 89(9):1328–1333. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.89.9.1328
Lipson GS, Turner JT, Kasper R (2010) A strategic approach to police interactions involving persons with mental illness. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations 10(1–2):30–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332581003757297
Litzcke SM (2006) Attitudes and emotions of German police officers towards the mentally ill. International Journal of Police Science & Management 8(2):119–132. https://doi.org/10.1350/ijps.2006.8.2.119
Livingston JD (2016) Contact between police and people with mental disorders: a review of rates. Psychiatr Serv 67(8):850–857. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500312
Martin T, Thomas S (2015) Police officers’ views of their encounters with people with personality disorder. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 22(2):125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12099
McTackett LJ, Thomas SDM (2017) Police perceptions of irrational unstable behaviours and use of force. J Police Crim Psychol 32(2):163–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-016-9212-y
Morabito MS, Kerr AN, Watson A, Draine J, Ottati V, Angell B (2010) Crisis intervention teams and people with mental illness: exploring the factors that influence the use of force. Crime Delinq 58(1):57–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128710372456
Morabito MS, Socia K, Wik A, Fisher WH (2017) The nature and extent of police use of force in encounters with people with behavioral health disorders. Int J Law Psychiatry 50:31–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2016.10.001
Nieuwenhuys A, Oudejans RRD (2010) Effects of anxiety on handgun shooting behavior of police officers: a pilot study. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping 23(2):225–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800902977494
Nieuwenhuys A, Oudejans RRD (2011) Training with anxiety: short- and long-term effects on police officers’ shooting behavior under pressure. Cogn Process 12(3):277–288. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-011-0396-x
O’Brien AJ, Thom K (2014) Police use of TASER devices in mental health emergencies: a review. Int J Law Psychiatry 37(4):420–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2014.02.014
Payne BK (2001) Prejudice and perception: the role of automatic and controlled processes in misperceiving a weapon. J Pers Soc Psychol 81(2):181–192. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.81.2.181
Richter D, Wall A, Bruen A, Whittington R (2019) Is the global prevalence rate of adult mental illness increasing? Systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Psychiatr Scand 140(5):393–407. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13083
Rivers, A. M. (2017). The weapons identification task: recommendations for adequately powered research. PLOS ONE, 12(6), e0177857. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177857
Rodgers, M., Thomas, S., Dalton, J., Harden, M., & Eastwood, A. (2019). Police-related triage interventions for mental health-related incidents: a rapid evidence synthesis. https://doi.org/10.3310/hsdr07200,
Rossler MT, Terrill W (2016) Mental illness, police use of force, and citizen injury. Police Q 20(2):189–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611116681480
Ruiz J, Miller C (2004) An exploratory study of Pennsylvania police officers’ perceptions of dangerousness and their ability to manage persons with mental illness. Police Q 7(3):359–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611103258957
Teller JLS, Munetz MR, Gil KM, Ritter C (2006) Crisis intervention team training for police officers responding to mental disturbance calls. Psychiatr Serv 57(2):232–237. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.57.2.232
von Lersner U, Gerb J, Hizli S, Waldhuber D, Wallerand AF, Bajbouj M, Schomerus G, Angermeyer MC, Hahn E (2019) Stigma of mental illness in Germans and Turkish immigrants in Germany: the effect of causal beliefs. Frontiers in Psychiatry 10:46. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00046
Watson AC, Wood JD (2017) Everyday police work during mental health encounters: a study of call resolutions in Chicago and their implications for diversion. Behavioral Sciences & the Law 35(5–6):442–455. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2324
Watson AC, Corrigan PW, Ottati V (2004) Police officers’ attitudes toward and decisions about persons with mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 55(1):49–53. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.55.1.49
Watson AC, Compton MT, Draine JN (2017) The crisis intervention team (CIT) model: an evidence-based policing practice? Behavioral Sciences & the Law 35(5–6):431–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2304
Wundsam K, Pitschel-Walz G, Leucht S, Kissling W (2007) Psychisch Erkrankte und Angehörige unterrichten Polizeibeamte. Psychiatr Prax 34(04):181–187. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-940065
Acknowledgments
We thank all police officers for their participation and appreciate the support of the Hamburg Police Department.
Funding
The research was funded by the Hamburg Police Department. The funding source supported the collection of the data by addressing potential participants.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Disclaimer
The Hamburg Police Department had no further involvement with regard to study design, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing process, or submission of the article.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Police officers were informed by a letter and asked to voluntary participate. Participants were asked to voluntary fill out the questionnaire and send it back anonymously to assure anonymity. Participants consented by returning the questionnaire. No identifying information of any kind was included in this article.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wittmann, L., Jörns-Presentati, A. & Groen, G. How Do Police Officers Experience Interactions with People with Mental Illness?. J Police Crim Psych 36, 220–226 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09398-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09398-8