Chapter II: Contact with Law Enforcement
Policy Statement 4: On-Scene Response
Recommendation b: Designate area hospitals or mental health facilities as disposition centers that facilitate intake for people with mental illnesses who require emergency psychiatric evaluation.
It is critical for a successful diversion program to have a place where responders can take people with mental illness who require emergency evaluations. The most common difficulty encountered by police is the lack of available facility space or long waiting times for intake procedures. Consumers with co-occurring disorders or additional special needs may not seem to fit any access requirements. Agreements between law enforcement and mental health facilities can result in designated centers for drop off, procedures at the center that shorten the wait for police referrals, and coordinated efforts to identify available beds and hard-to-access services (such as for co-occurring disorders) from a wide range of options. Given the difficulties in sorting out whether a person's symptoms are due only to mental illness or to substance abuse, these facilities must have the capacity to work with both disorders.
Example: Memphis (TN) Police Department
A key element to success for the Memphis Police Department has been the relationships developed with the mental health community. For example, the local psychiatric emergency room agreed to provide emergency evaluations to all people with mental illness brought in by the police. The hospital also assumes immediate responsibility for assessment and referral - to either community-based or inpatient treatment at the local state hospital - while officers return to police service in as little as 15 minutes.
Example: Florence (AL) Police Department
The Florence Police department liaison, with the help and support of the chief, negotiated an agreement with the director of the local emergency room to "fast track" medical assessments conducted on people with mental illnesses who were brought in by police. These assessments now take less than 30 minutes.
Example: Anne Arundel County (MD) Mental Health Facility
In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the county mental health facility maintains a countywide bed registry to assist law enforcement in easily locating an available bed.
Example: Seattle (WA) Crisis Intervention Team
Crisis Intervention Team officers from the Seattle Police Department may transport individuals who appear to have a mental illness to a Crisis Triage Unit at a Seattle-area hospital. King County health care providers developed the unit, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to people in crisis.
Long drives to mental health facilities may remain the rule in rural areas, but it is possible for officers to be assured that the effort will be worthwhile. For instance, telemedicine gives officers and psychiatrists or other mental health professionals an opportunity to ensure that preliminary assessments are performed in a timely manner. These preliminary assessments help to guard against transportation that is ultimately unnecessary, and they ensure that proper arrangements are made to receive the individual.