Crisis Intervention – Criminal Justice and the Mentally Unstable: Problems & Solutions
Proven and effective response strategies

Upcoming Courses

Course Overview

Law enforcement officers have become the de-facto social workers of the 21st century, increasingly responding to individuals in serious mental health crises, far more than mental health professionals. Jails and prisons have become the new asylums of the 21st century, housing more prisoners with mental illness than any state mental hospital.

A lack of an understanding of mental illness and appropriate response strategies have resulted in the following:

• Officers being hurt by the mentally ill at a rate higher than the average population
• Individuals with mental illness being shot and killed by law enforcement at a rate higher than the average population
• Lawsuits filed against law enforcement agencies for the fatal shootings of individuals with mental illness
• Lawsuits filed against correctional facilities for the mishandling of prisoners with mental illness
• Frustration on the part of law enforcement and corrections officers for not being taught how to safely, effectively and humanely interact with individuals in serious mental health crises

Topics covered in this class include the following:

• Precursors to the problem of criminal justice and the mentally ill
• Consequences for law enforcement and corrections
• Keys to the successful development and implementation of crisis intervention training