Gender differences in police encounters among persons with and without serious mental illness
- PMID: 19114576
- DOI: 10.1176/ps.2009.60.1.86
Gender differences in police encounters among persons with and without serious mental illness
Abstract
Objective: This study examined the rates, patterns, and types of police contacts among men and women with and without serious mental illness.
Methods: Data on type of contact, type and number of offenses, dispositions, and repeat offenses were extracted from an administrative database of all police encounters in a midsized Canadian city over a six-year period (N=767,365).
Results: Men and women with serious mental illness represented, respectively, .5% and .4% of men and women who had at least one contact with the police; however, they were involved in 3.2% and 3.0% of all interactions, respectively. Persons with mental illness were more likely than those without mental illness to be in contact with police as suspected offenders, to have a greater number of offenses, to reoffend more quickly, and to be formally charged for a suspected offense. Among persons without mental illness in contact with police, men were much more likely than women to be offenders, to have a greater number of offenses, and to reoffend more quickly. Among persons with mental illness, however, the gender gap for these measures was significantly smaller.
Conclusions: More resources should be allocated to support persons with mental illness in the community because they tend to have high rates of repeated police contacts for a variety of offenses. The findings highlight the need for gender-specific intervention programs. Administrative databases can be useful tools in examining police contacts among persons with mental illness and monitoring change after policy and program implementation for those at risk of police encounters.
Similar articles
-
Effects of serious mental illness and substance abuse on criminal offenses.Psychiatr Serv. 2006 Jun;57(6):879-82. doi: 10.1176/ps.2006.57.6.879. Psychiatr Serv. 2006. PMID: 16754769
-
Police encounters involving citizens with mental illness: use of resources and outcomes.Psychiatr Serv. 2014 Apr 1;65(4):511-6. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300053. Psychiatr Serv. 2014. PMID: 24337400
-
Patterns and prevalence of arrest in a statewide cohort of mental health care consumers.Psychiatr Serv. 2006 Nov;57(11):1623-8. doi: 10.1176/ps.2006.57.11.1623. Psychiatr Serv. 2006. PMID: 17085611 Free PMC article.
-
The police and mental health.Psychiatr Serv. 2002 Oct;53(10):1266-71. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.53.10.1266. Psychiatr Serv. 2002. PMID: 12364674 Review.
-
Contact Between Police and People With Mental Disorders: A Review of Rates.Psychiatr Serv. 2016 Aug 1;67(8):850-7. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201500312. Epub 2016 Apr 15. Psychiatr Serv. 2016. PMID: 27079990 Review.
Cited by
-
Gender-specific participation and outcomes among jail diversion clients with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020 Aug;115:108035. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108035. Epub 2020 May 13. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020. PMID: 32600621 Free PMC article.
-
Persistent and aggressive interactions with the police: potential mental health implications.Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2019 Feb 5;29:e19. doi: 10.1017/S2045796019000015. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2019. PMID: 30714560 Free PMC article.
-
Research Priorities in Mental Health, Justice, and Safety: A Multidisciplinary Stakeholder Report.Int J Forensic Ment Health. 2015 Jul 3;14(3):205-217. doi: 10.1080/14999013.2015.1073197. Epub 2015 Oct 6. Int J Forensic Ment Health. 2015. PMID: 26681928 Free PMC article.
-
Gender differences and risk of arrest among offenders with serious mental illness.J Behav Health Serv Res. 2011 Jan;38(1):16-28. doi: 10.1007/s11414-010-9217-8. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2011. PMID: 20480246
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous