SNAPSHOT:
> Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) has not reduced use-of-force incidents.
> Successful strategies emerged when comparing CIT with methods from psychiatric care.
> Top 3 include: mandatory reporting of incidents, data analysis, & policy adjustment.
Lieutenant Andrew Cullen of the Los Angeles Police Department is a recent graduate of the Master’s Program at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), where he studied the history and effects of crisis intervention training (CIT) within policing for his thesis. What he found is that, despite CIT being the dominant response strategy to those experiencing a mental crisis, it has not produced effective reductions in use-of-force incidents.
The basic goals of CIT are to teach law enforcement officers how to identify and help people experiencing a mental health crisis when responding to incidents. The training is meant to help police stabilize and de-escalate situations, reduce stigma around mental health, and connect people to the right resources.
Recognizing parallel problems within the psychiatric care realm, Lt. Cullen conducted a comparative analysis of the shared issues. Though the issues were not identical – dealing with known diagnoses and medication histories, as well as the awareness of whether the person is armed or not – this analysis led to his discovery of successful strategies that could be carried over from psychiatric care to policing. This included the reporting requirements that were mandated for particular issues in psychiatric care (i.e., patient deaths resulting from seclusion and restraint); the mere act of required reporting decreased the number of incidents. CIT does not have a reporting requirement. Additionally, without reporting requirements, there is no data from which law enforcement can analyze uses of force and determine successful intervention strategies.
If police are to reduce instances of use of force with individuals experiencing mental crises, the results of Lt. Cullen’s analysis recommend implementing mandatory reporting of these incidents, conducting data analysis, and adjusting policy in regard to custody of persons with mental illness.
To watch Lt. Cullen discuss “Beyond Crisis Intervention Training,” nominated for CHDS’s 2024 Outstanding Thesis Award, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCnnaP-8CMM.
For the complete thesis, visit https://www.hsdl.org/c/abstract/?docid=893169.
Published in partnership with the Center for Homeland Security and Defense.