Mental Health Policing in America

Here is a link to more information about the issue of Mental Health/The Mentally Ill and Law Enforcement:

https://qualitypolicing.com/divert_to_where/

 

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Andy Young.

Lubbock Police Train Special

Mental Health Police Officers

A month after Lubbock police responded to a suicidal male on Texas Tech campus, two officers were awarded the department’s Life Saving award.During the early morning hours of Sept. 13, Lubbock police officers Thomas Thompson and Jarred Dalton knew t…

A month after Lubbock police responded to a suicidal male on Texas Tech campus, two officers were awarded the department’s Life Saving award.

During the early morning hours of Sept. 13, Lubbock police officers Thomas Thompson and Jarred Dalton knew they had to make a connection with an 18-year-old Hispanic male who was threatening to jump after he reportedly climbed scaffolding on the Texas Tech campus and was threatening to end his life.

Thompson and Dalton are Mental Health Officers with the Lubbock Police Department. Currently, about 15 mental health officers also serve as the department’s negotiators.

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e male — who was more than 30 feet high — paced back and forth on three feet of ledge. Thompson and Dalton knew they had to intervene in a cautious and timely manner.

To become Mental Health Officers, Dalton and Thompson completed a week-long course where they got a brief overview of mental disorders, how to deal with those suffering from mental illness and what resources available to to receive treatment.

While the negotiators are required to take the course, Dalton said they all have a heart for the work and want to assist those in dire need of a helping hand.

Members of the team also have other duties within the department, which can also be beneficial with their two-week, on-call rotations.

The demand for these officers are high. Last year, on-duty officers responded to an estimated 2,600 suicidal subject calls, according to Officer Kimberlee Crain.

Crain — who also serves as the LPD Crisis Intervention Team coordinator — says their role is to provide some relief to patrol officers.

“This is just a little bit of something that we try to help out with,” she said. “While they’re trained to deal with it, it shouldn’t necessarily be the job of the patrol officer, but it falls on the patrol officer, and if we can alleviate that a little bit then that’s definitely something that we try to do for them.”

Dalton said he tries to lend his assistance to mental-health-related calls while on patrol — which is what prompted officers to step into action on the Tech campus on that night.

LPD received word of a man who was possibly on narcotics and had left the hospital after being admitted; the IV was still in his arm.

Dalton, who was on patrol, said a supervisor notified him and Thompson of the situation and they arrived on scene after 1 a.m., where they found the man, who appeared to be suffering from hallucinations.

Other members of the team went to work to find out information on the man. With the help of LPD Officer Tye Edwards, the officers were able to identify him and continued to work to develop rapport — a task that took more than an hour.

As other first responders arrived on scene, the two could see the man’s condition was worsening and he was turning his paranoia toward Thompson.

They talked with him about tattoos and sports, finally connecting with him by speaking about a beloved family member.

Dr. Andy Young, who has been with the team for about 17 years, said making that connection is critical in life-or-death situations.

“One of the things that we’re looking for are things that are important to him,” he said. “Things that might help us gain some traction, and try to motivate him to do the right thing.On the flip side of that are things that we want to avoid, things that might make him angry and agitated.”

Once that bond was created, the men were able to successfully reach him with the help of Lubbock Fire Rescue crews as they manned a bucket on an engine and brought him down to safety.

Detective David Schrieber, who was also on scene and assisted, said he hopes this new asset to the department changes the public’s view on policing and mental health.

He said it is important for people to know that calling for help doesn’t equate jail time as they can connect people to the appropriate resources for the situation on hand.

“Everyone is going to have a bad day,” he said, “and you’re just dealing with that person on their bad day. It’s just a bad day, we’re going to get through it and you’re going to be fine.”

After being on the team for more than a decade, Young said he is excited to be working alongside well-trained individuals as their experience grows with each call.

Over time, Thompson said, people’s views on mental health are starting to change and as a team they are working to help expedite that process.

“I think as our society becomes more aware of how many people struggle with mental health issues,” he said, “it can be overwhelming to look at the numbers, but realize they’re all people. This could be your family member, this could be your loved one, a friend, a coworker.

“Anyone can experience crisis, and so it’s nice to know that we have the training the willingness to say, ‘You’re a human being, just like me. We just want to help you.’”

 

Link to the AJ Article: http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/news/2017-11-05/lubbock-police-train-special-mental-health-officers

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Andy Young.

Psychological Consultant with a Hostage Negotiating Team - What IS That?

It is relatively uncommon for a mental health professional (MHP) to become a member of a police department, sheriff's office, or state police department's hostage (crisis) negotiating team (HNT), even though there is evidence for the inclusion of an MHP leading to more peaceful callout resolution in the case of a hostage taking and a reduction in the number of callouts that end with tactical action being taken (see Butler et al, 1993 for more). For a minority of departments the inclusion of a MHP has been a common practice for many years. But what are the duties of a MHP on an HNT? Before I address this question I would like to advocate for a change in terms. I submit that instead of MHP our profession should use the term Psychological Consultant because MHP is a very broad term and may not clearly denote the duties performed by a MHP as part of an HNT on a SWAT callout.

So what do Psychological Consultants do when part of an HNT? I can speak from my own experience these last 17 years, and can also reference what I have learned from other HNT Psychological Consultants across the US and Canada.  Common duties include:

1) Assisting the HNT by listening in on negotiations and suggesting methods and phrases for effective communication.

2) Listening in on negotiations and identifying psychiatric and other conditions that may be influencing negotiations, and then suggesting strategies for communicating.

3) Monitoring the team for stress or other factors that may influence ongoing negotiations.

4) Assisting with communication among the officers responding to an incident.

5) Assisting with the interview and debriefing of witnesses and those involved in an incident.

6) Assisting with suicide and violence risk assessment and prediction.

7) Assisting the HNT via ongoing training leadership and participation.

8) Assisting with new HNT member selection.

There are other duties I, and other Psychological Consultants do on-scene, but this list serves as a starting place and description of the most common duties.

I thoroughly enjoy my work as a Psychological Consultant on a number of HNT's. One reason for this, among many, is because an HNT sometimes has a chance to influence and change a situation instead of having to react to it. The peaceful resolution of a tense and seemingly impossible and deadly situation is a very gratifying experience. Kudos to all the Psychological Consultants giving of themselves to do this great work!

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Andy Young.

LPD Negotiator Discusses SWAT Callout

By: Elizabeth Lane
http://www.everythinglubbock.com
Posted: Feb 20, 2017 06:39 PM CST
Updated: Feb 20, 2017 06:39 PM CST

LUBBOCK TX - What Lubbock Police were treating as a potential hostage situation ended peacefully Sunday, partially in thanks to an experienced team of negotiators.

Officer Coby McBroom was just one of 15 negotiators on the case, saying in high-pressure situations, it takes a team to get the job done. McBroom said they train often and are more than prepared for any situation they might face.

"We, as negotiators, have to have that empathy and the ability to invest ourselves in that person and get to understand them and know them, and figure what is going on in their life, and why they're feeling the way they're feeling."

The Officer said each person on their team is competent in all areas of negotiation, and ready to go when they're called upon. Once the on-call Sergeant assigns responsibilities, the team jumps into action.

"They'll divide up who's going to be the primary negotiator, who's going to be the back-up, who's going to be intelligence, who's going to start gathering the intelligence, who's going to set up the command vehicle...so that we can start our negotiation process."

The key to a successful outcome is being prepared for anything.

"They just lay it all out and we roll right through it, and it doesn't really matter if it's a hostage situation, if it's a barricaded subject, if it's a suicidal subject, the steps are the same," McBroom said, "If you keep the steps the same, you work through your processes the same, everything runs a lot smoother, and it makes a more competent and more efficient team."

And another major key: finding a connection with the person on the other end.

"When someone's in crisis and they're having an issue, you've got to build that rapport...and if you don't [build that rapport] you're not going to get anything accomplished, at least nothing positive," McBroom said.

For the Officer, being a negotiator is more than just a job. He said he wants to get people the help they need.

"The risk involved with being a negotiator is no different than the risk involved with being a cop, and when we all chose to put the badge on, we understand the inherent, the risks involved in our job. You do the job because you love the job, regardless of the risk."

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Guest User.

LPD: Shooting suspect in custody after Monday night SWAT standoff

Published Monday, February 20th 2017, 9:50 pm EST
Updated Tuesday, February 21st 2017, 11:22 am EST

http://www.kcbd.com

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) -

A SWAT team was called to a residence in the 2800 block of 35th Street Monday night, where a shooting suspect barricaded himself in a home.

Negotiators were able to establish communication with the suspect and the situation was resolved peacefully around 9:15 p.m.

Police received word of a shooting at the residence around 7:45 p.m. after a victim with a gunshot wound reported the incident and gave a detailed description of the suspect.

Police went to the residence and a male matching the description of the suspect answered the door and saw police. He then ran back inside and barricaded himself in the home. SWAT was called to the scene after a shot was fired from inside the residence.

The gunshot victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was able to walk to a relative's house and was then taken to the hospital by private vehicle.

The suspect, 37-year-old Lanny Sanders, is now facing charges of aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and discharge of a firearm in a municipality. He is being held in the Lubbock County Detention Center where a bond has not been set yet.

Police say the car parked in front of the home was also listed as stolen.

Copyright 2017 KCBD. All rights reserved.

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Guest User.