The Crisis Intervention Team Cit Model Of Collaboration Between Law Enforcement And Mental Health

Collaborations between the law enforcement and mental health communities have become vital as law enforcement officers are often first-line responders in crisis situations involving individuals with mental illnesses. A nationally recognised example of a pre-booking jail diversion program, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, was developed in 1988 following a fatal police shooting of a person with a history of a mental illness. The model is a close collaboration among law enforcement, the mental health system, and advocates. CIT programs provide specialised training for police officers to assist them in safely and effectively responding to individuals with mental illnesses and obtaining appropriate services that will adequately address these individuals' needs in lieu of incarceration when appropriate. This book examines the CIT model and the reasons why it is a unique and important collaboration between law enforcement and mental health.

This is the first truly interdisciplinary book that examines how professionals work together within community mental health. It takes into account the key concepts of community mental health and combines them with current technology to develop an effective formula that redefines the community mental health practice.

This book describes the signs and symptoms of a variety of psychiatric illnesses, substance abuse disorders and developmental disabilities that may be encountered by first responders, public safety officials, and criminal justice professionals. Individual chapters describe specific categories of mental illnesses, and provide basic skills to enhance interactions with people who have these disorders, and who may be facing stressful situations.

While most government agencies are trained in how to react to a mass casualty event such as a terrorist attack or natural disaster, few are prepared to deal with the psychological fallout for first responders. Preparing for the Unimaginable fills that void. This book is the product of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s work with the Newtown, Connecticut, police force in efforts to cope with the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school that left twenty six people, including twenty children, dead. This unique publication offers expert advice and practical tips for helping officers to heal emotionally, managing the public, dealing with the media, building relationships with other first responder agencies, and much more. Complete with firsthand accounts of chiefs and officers that have guided their departments through mass casualty events, Preparing for the Unimaginable seeks to provide practical, actionable strategies to protect officer mental health before and after traumatic events.

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program has become a globally recognized model for safely and effectively assisting people with mental and substance use disorders who experience crises in the community. The CIT Model promotes strong community partnerships among law enforcement, behavioral health providers, people with mental and substance use disorders, along with their families and others. While law enforcement agencies have a central role in program development and ongoing operations, a continuum of crisis services available to citizens prior to police involvement is part of the model. These other community services (e.g., mobile crisis teams, crisis phone lines) are essential for avoiding criminal justice system involvement for those with behavioral health challenges ? a goal of CIT programs (Steadman & Morrissette, 2016). CIT is just one part of a robust continuum of behavioral health services for the whole community.

An in-depth examination of the factors contributing to the criminalization of mental illness and strategies to combat them.