In late May of 2020, the murder of the Black American George Floyd by the Minnesota Police Department ignited social justice protest aimed at police reform. Since May, a cry to “Defund the Police” now leads movements to reevaluate law enforcement’s role in maintaining public safety. Currently, 25% of fatal police shootings involve individuals with mental illness. Furthermore, 20% of jail inmates and 15% of prison inmates have a severe mental illness (Bronzon & Berzofsky, 2017), with Black individuals with serious mental illness facing a significantly higher risk of being jailed (“Black and African,” 2020). Thus, reimagining law enforcement’s responsibilities and duties also involves examining police intervention in mental health crisis calls.
Police typically respond to various mental health calls, often related to homelessness, public indecency, drug use, or calls made by concerned family members of individuals experiencing a mental health episode. While the widespread implementation of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) has reportedly reduced the number of negative interactions between police officers and individuals with mental illness (Borum et al., 2000), social justice groups continue to demand law enforcement reform. Even police officers voice the opinion that CIT training alone cannot fully improve police responses to mental health calls (Sweeney & Gorner, 2020).
In early December, the Chicago Department of Public Health released a $1.4 million proposal to dedicate three-person teams composed of police officers, mental health clinicians, and paramedics to respond to mental health calls in two Chicago police districts in 2021. Chicago based its mental health crisis response program on a pre-existing initiative in Eugene, Oregon named CAHOOTS. In 1989, the White Bird Clinic launched the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program, which serves as an alternative law enforcement response to non-violent crises. The program features two-person teams of medics and mental health crisis workers that provide various community services, including conflict resolution skills, welfare checks, substance abuse intervention, stabilizing suicide threats, and non-emergent medical services. Both team members remain unarmed and respond to non-violent 911 calls involving behavioral health. In 2019, only 150 out of 24,000 calls directed to CAHOOTS teams required police backup. Furthermore, by responding to 17% of the Eugene Police Department’s overall call volume, the CAHOOTS team saved the city an estimated $8.5 million in annual public safety spending and $14 million in ambulance and emergency room costs (“CAHOOTS & The Police,” 2020).
Redistributing law enforcement funding to community mental health facilities represents another component of the movement to defund the police. By strengthening programs that offer substance abuse treatment, temporary housing, or psychosis stabilization, individuals experiencing mental health disorders may receive proper mental healthcare and are less likely to re-offend and interact with the police later (Armita et al., 2020). By investing in community mental healthcare, communities preemptively reduce the necessity of law enforcement or mental healthcare teams that handle destabilized individuals experiencing mental health disorders. In cases that necessitate outside intervention, mental healthcare teams represent a safe and effective way to de-escalate situations without excessive policing or force.
As social justice movements place increasing pressure on law enforcement to retrain officers and restructure funding, police response to individuals experiencing mental health disorders (specifically individuals of color) must also face reform. Improvement of current mental health crisis intervention must not only include mandated CIT police training and the establishment of programs that position teams with mental healthcare professionals to respond to mental health crises as opposed to police teams. These mental healthcare teams must work with community mental healthcare facilities to connect individuals who have severe mental illness with treatment and support groups. Particular emphases on these law enforcement rectification and community mental healthcare programs in communities of color will ensure that this reform reaches communities most directly impacted by police brutality and the persecution of individuals who have mental illnesses.