(Apr. 13, 2015) The Sheehan v. San Francisco Supreme Court case ruling could bring about much-needed changes in the way law enforcement officers across the country are trained to interact with people with mental illness. (“U.S. Supreme Court case could change law enforcement training,” WISC-TV, Apr. 9).
In 2008, Teresa Sheehan, a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot multiple times by San Francisco police officers responding to an incident that occurred after she had stopped taking her medication. Sheehan survived the encounter, and her case has now made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
An affirmative ruling would likely force law enforcement agencies across the country to implement crisis intervention team (CIT) training.
“CIT training is critical in having police know what to do in those situations, and in communities where they have CIT, they have shown by the number of arrests and the number of people going to jail that it works,” said Sue Petkovsek, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Dane County.
Research has established the effectiveness of CIT in reducing the criminalization of mental illness. This is especially important, considering a joint report by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association found that “at least half of the people shot and killed by police each year in this country have mental health problems.”
While a police department’s embrace of CIT serves a number of vital purposes – for example, having officers with knowledge of mental illness respond to sensitive incidents sharply reduces the risks of injury and death – a primary goal is diversion away from the criminal justice system altogether.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s diversion study to learn more about crisis intervention training and other mental health diversion practices.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.
In 2008, Teresa Sheehan, a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot multiple times by San Francisco police officers responding to an incident that occurred after she had stopped taking her medication. Sheehan survived the encounter, and her case has now made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. An affirmative ruling would likely force law enforcement agencies across the country to implement crisis intervention team (CIT) training.
“CIT training is critical in having police know what to do in those situations, and in communities where they have CIT, they have shown by the number of arrests and the number of people going to jail that it works,” said Sue Petkovsek, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Dane County.
Research has established the effectiveness of CIT in reducing the criminalization of mental illness. This is especially important, considering a joint report by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association found that “at least half of the people shot and killed by police each year in this country have mental health problems.”
While a police department’s embrace of CIT serves a number of vital purposes – for example, having officers with knowledge of mental illness respond to sensitive incidents sharply reduces the risks of injury and death – a primary goal is diversion away from the criminal justice system altogether.
Read the Treatment Advocacy Center’s diversion study to learn more about crisis intervention training and other mental health diversion practices.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.