In most cities across the United States, police officers are the default first-responders to 911 calls reporting mental health crises and seeking emergency aid. But people in crisis need medical and psychiatric care, which law enforcement officers do not and cannot provide. In fact, law enforcement’s presence routinely escalates medical and mental health crises into hectic and dangerous situations. With police involved, individuals in need of emergency aid are arrested, incarcerated, or, all too often— seriously injured or killed.
People living with serious mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during interactions with law enforcement than civilians without mental illness who are approached or stopped by the police. Nationwide, more than 1 in 4 of the people shot and killed by police officers between 2015 and 2020 had a known mental illness. A significant portion of these lethal encounters begin as 911 calls from people concerned about the well- being of a loved one or neighbor living with a mental illness. When armed officers respond to these calls for help, these medical crises regularly escalate into deathly tragedies.
Policy White Paper
In our policy white paper we outline the need to remove police from mental health emergency response and outline different crisis intervention models policymakers can use to find a viable alternative for their jurisdiction.