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PubMed2001

A specialized crisis response site as a core element of police-based diversion programs.

Transporting an individual in psychiatric crisis to an emergency department is often frustrating for both law enforcement and mental health professionals. To facilitate collaboration between police and mental heath professionals in crisis cases, some communities have developed prebooking diversion programs that rely on specialized crisis response sites where police can drop off individuals in psychiatric crisis and return to their regular patrol duties. These programs identify detainees with mental disorders and work with diversion staff, community-based providers, and the courts to produce a mental health disposition in lieu of jail. This paper describes three of the diversion programs participating in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration jail diversion knowledge development application initiative that demonstrate the importance of specialized crisis response sites. The three programs are in Memphis, Tennessee; Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; and Multnomah County, Oregon. The authors describe important principles in the operation of these programs: being a highly visible, single point of entry; having a no-refusal policy and streamlined intake for police cases; establishing legal foundations to detain certain individuals; ensuring innovative, intensive cross-training; and linking clients to community services.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2001

The working practices of the police in relation to mentally disordered offenders and diversion services.

A research study was undertaken to examine the working practices of four bridewells in Hampshire in relation to mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) and diversion services. A consecutive sample of individuals detained in cells and not identified by the police as having a mental disorder were screened for the presence of mental disorder and their suitability for diversion. Custody and detention staff were observed and interviewed to elicit their views and working practices in relation to MDOs. The findings revealed that in bridewells with diversion schemes an average of about 7% of detained individuals had mental disorders who were suitable for diversion but were not detected by the police. In the bridewell without a diversion scheme the figure was 14%. Conversely, many individuals without a formal mental disorder were inappropriately referred to diversion schemes. The effectiveness of screening processes by custody staff was variable. Facilities in the bridewells were not suitable for containing disturbed individuals. Delays in obtaining mental health assessments caused considerable concern for police officers and prolonged the discomfort of vulnerable individuals. Further preparation and training of custody staff is needed to improve screening procedures. Reception and detention facilities for mentally disordered individuals should be reviewed and response times for approved social workers (ASWs) and psychiatrists would benefit from improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Police officers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards, mental illness in southwest Scotland.

Questionnaires were sent to all operational officers in a regional police service regarding their level of knowledge about and attitudes towards, mental illness. It was widely accepted by police officers that mental illness occurred commonly, can be effectively treated in the community and that the main risk of harm is to patients themselves. There was a good knowledge of relevant legislation, but most officers felt they did not have sufficient training in mental illness, and were keen for more. Improved liaison between sector psychiatrists and local police may be of value in the earlier identification and treatment of the mentally ill.

Attitude↗
PubMed2005

Interpersonal violence cases reported to the police: a Nigerian study.

The study involves 204 cases of interpersonal assault reported to the police during a period of 1 year. The patterns of domestic violence and community violence involving friends, neighbors, and strangers are described. The most common type of violence reported to the police is community interpersonal violence in which victims are mostly females and perpetrators are mostly males and members of gangs. Cases of rape are reported, whereas spousal violence tends to be underreported. On the whole, female victims are more likely to be younger than their male counterparts, whereas the male perpetrators are more likely to be unemployed. Repeat assault is found in 43 instances. Possible psychological and sociological explanations are offered for violent gang activities. The need to sensitize the police to become more involved is emphasized. The author proposes suggestions that may help reduce the incidence of community violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Police reporting and professional help seeking for child crime victims: a review.

Most crimes with child victims are not reported to police, nor do child victims access other professional victim services, despite evidence that these yield positive outcomes. This article develops a conceptual framework about the barriers to such access: (a) the reluctance to define the crime episodes or their consequences as serious, criminal, harmful, or warranting intervention; (b) the extra authorities, including parents and schools, who mediate between victims and police or services; (c) developmental issues, such as concerns about autonomy; (d) attitudinal and emotional obstacles; and (e) time and expense factors. This article suggests the need for initiatives to stimulate reporting and help seeking, such as more publicity about the seriousness of juvenile victimization, more justice-system involvement with schools, more child and family friendly police services, and an emphasis on attractive outcomes such as justice and empowerment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Can police car colored flash light induce electroencephalographic discharges and seizures?

AIM: To explore the epileptogenic potential of a newly introduced police car flash light device (930 Heliobe Lightbar). METHODS: A 930 Heliobe Lightbar was installed in the EEG laboratory. Thirty patients with known epilepsy, 30 subjects with chronic headache who were otherwise healthy and 15 healthy volunteers were examined. RESULTS: All the subjects signed an informed consent and underwent an EEG during which photostimulation was performed with the standard stroboscope and later with the Police lightbar. In all 75 examined the lightbar did not induce clinical or electrographic seizures. In a single patient with epilepsy the lightbar enhanced epileptiform activity induced by standard photic stimulation. CONCLUSION: In this study the new Police lightbar was found to be non-epileptogenic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Suspects who have a learning disability: police perceptions toward the client group and their knowledge about learning disabilities.

More than a million people in the UK have a learning disability. A small but significant proportion of these people will come into contact with the criminal justice system because they have offended or have been accused of an offence. This article reports on the perceptions of police officers toward this potentially vulnerable group and their knowledge of issues related to learning disabilities. Interview data were collected from eight police sergeants employed by Humberside Police and analysed using qualitative techniques. The article concludes that further training in the subject area is required. This is likely to be successful in the force under study due to their promotion of positive perceptions toward people with learning disabilities.

Cognition↗
PubMed2000

The influence of occupational debriefing on post-traumatic stress symptomatology in traumatized police officers.

Certain individuals, such as police officers, are exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupational roles. In an effort to prevent psychological illnesses, notably the post-traumatic stress disorder, from arising out of work-related traumatic incidents, psychological interventions have been developed such as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (Mitchell, 1983; Mitchell & Everly, 1996). The present study tests the hypothesis that debriefing reduces the psychological morbidity caused by work-related incidents. Because debriefing techniques were not designed for application on a 'one-off' basis (Robinson & Mitchell, 1993), the procedure studied here consisted of three successive debriefing sessions (at 24 hours, 1 month and 3 months post-trauma), which included traumatic stress education. In a sample of 243 traumatized police officers, a subgroup of debriefed officers (N = 86) was compared with non-debriefed internal (N = 82) and external (N = 75) control groups. No differences in psychological morbidity were found between the groups at pre-test, at 24 hours or at 6 months post-trauma. One week post-trauma, debriefed subjects exhibited significantly more post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology than non-debriefed subjects. High levels of satisfaction with debriefing were not reflected in positive outcomes. The findings are translated into recommendations for the future use of debriefing in police practice.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Displacement of Canada's largest public illicit drug market in response to a police crackdown.

BACKGROUND: Law enforcement is often used in an effort to reduce the social, community and health-related harms of illicit drug use by injection drug users (IDUs). There are, however, few data on the benefits of such enforcement or on the potential harms. A large-scale police "crackdown" to control illicit drug use in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside provided us with an opportunity to evaluate the effect. METHODS: As part of our ongoing prospective cohort study of IDUs in Vancouver, we examined data collected from 244 IDUs in the 3 months before the police crackdown and from 142 IDUs in the 3 months after the start of the crackdown, on Apr. 7, 2003. All study subjects were active drug users. We also examined external data on needle exchanges and syringe disposal. RESULTS: The 2 groups of IDUs were statistically similar: they were mainly young (mean age 39 years) and male (63%), and they had injected illicit drugs for 13 years on average. Ethnic background and the proportion homeless were also similar. There were no statistically significant reported differences (all p > 0.1) in the street price of heroin, cocaine or "crack" in the 2 periods. In the 3-month periods before and after the crackdown, respectively, the rates of daily heroin injection were 27.9% and 26.8%, daily cocaine injection 28.7% and 27.5%, and daily crack use 59.4% and 60.6% (all p > 0.1). The proportions of study subjects receiving methadone treatment, 41.0% and 44.4% (p = 0.516), did not differ. However, the proportions reporting a change in where drugs were used, 22.5% and 33.8% (p < 0.05), and the proportions reporting a change in the neighbourhood of use because of police presence, 18.1% and 26.8% (p < 0.05), increased significantly. Needle-exchange data confirmed that the community levels of drug use were unchanged. Disposal statistics demonstrated that the monthly average number of used syringes found on the streets outside the traditional area of drug use increased from 784 in the 3 months before Apr. 1 to 1253 in the subsequent 3 months (p = 0.002) and the monthly average number of used syringes found in public boxes for the safe disposal of syringes decreased from 865 to 502 (p = 0.018). INTERPRETATION: The effort to control illicit drug use did not alter the price of drugs or the frequency of use, nor did it encourage enrollment in methadone treatment programs. Several measures indicated displacement of injection drug use from the area of the crackdown into adjacent areas of the city, which has implications for both recruitment of new initiates into injection drug use and HIV prevention efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Trends in police suicide.

Little empirical information is available concerning trends of suicide by police officers. Anecdotes and articles in the popular press imply that the rate is increasing but do not provide a scientific base. Data from an epidemiological mortality database are used to describe trends in police suicide in a medium-sized police department over a 40-yr. period.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed2006

Gunshot injuries in Calabar, Nigeria: an indication of increasing societal violence and police brutality.

BACKGROUND: Gunshot injuries were rare in Calabar before the Nigerian civil war. This has changed in subsequent years and has reached a near epidemic proportion in the last three years. These are caused by civil violence, police brutality and armed robberies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence, pattern and causes of gunshot injuries in this region and draw the attention of Nigerians and the Government to the above problems for a possible solution. METHODOLOGY: Records of patients admitted into the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) with gunshot wounds between April 2002 and May 2004 were extracted. Parameters analyzed included patients' biodata, sources of injury, anatomical site (s) of injury, modalities of treatment and the outcome RESULT: There were 51 injuries in 49 patients as follows: The lower limbs 25 (51'), upper limbs 6 (12.4'), upper limbs/ chest 2 (4.1'), chest 4 (8.2'), abdomen 7(14.1') and head/neck 5(10.2'). Male/female ratio was 48:1. Twenty-four (49') sustained their injuries from either accidental discharge or deliberate shooting by the police while armed robbers wounded 10 (20.4') and cultists, 2 (4.1'). Two patients had amputations and mortality was 8.2'. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS: The police should be cautious with guns;they and the Government should be alert to the menace of robbery, political violence, cultism and communal clashes. Good Governance, creation of employment, eradication of corruption and political violence may help.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The role of stalking in domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department.

A review of 1,785 domestic violence crime reports generated by the Colorado Springs Police Department found that 1 in 6 (16.5 percent) contained evidence the suspect stalked the victim. Female victims were significantly more likely than male victims to allege stalking by their partners (18.3 vs. 10.5 percent). Most stalkers were former rather than current intimates. Regardless of victims' gender, reports with stalking allegations were significantly less likely to mention physical abuse or victim injury in the presenting condition, to involve households with children, or to involve victims and suspects who were using alcohol at the time of the report. Female victims who alleged stalking by their partner were significantly less likely than female victims who did not allege stalking to be emotionally distraught at the time of the report, but significantly more likely to have an active restraining order against the suspect, and to sign releases to facilitate the police investigation. Police almost never charged domestic violence stalking suspects with stalking, preferring instead to charge them with harassment or violation of a restraining order.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The identification of alcohol intoxication by police.

BACKGROUND: The identification of alcohol intoxication by police, bartenders, social hosts, and potential passengers is an important issue in the prevention of alcohol-related driving accidents. This study examines the ability of police officers to correctly identify and make ratings of the sobriety of target drinkers presented on video. METHODS: Raters were asked to determine (1) whether the target drinker had been drinking alcohol, (2) whether it was "okay" to serve the target another drink, and (3) whether the target drinker was "okay" to drive. A rater confidence score for each target evaluated, as well as demographic characteristics about the raters, was obtained. RESULTS: Drinkers were accurately targeted to low (0.08-0.09%), medium (0.11-0.13%), and high (0.15-0.16%) blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) by using a method previously described. At lower BACs, most police officers were unable to identify whether or not targets had been drinking. Raters were "pretty sure" that targets in the 0.15-0.16% range had been drinking and "not sure" whether or not they should be served another drink or drive a car. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of raters to reliably identify target drinkers who were too intoxicated to drive safely was not obtained until the BACs were relatively high. These results suggest that prevention measures must focus on improving behavioral observations made of potential drunk drivers. Implications for bartenders and social hosts are discussed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

Assessment of the quality of medical documents issued in central police stations in Madrid, Spain: the doctor's role in the prevention of ill-treatment.

Doctors sometimes assess allegations of ill-treatment. Reports from such examinations may be used if the practice of the police is to be appraised: they should therefore be relevant and exhaustive. We assessed, retrospectively, the quality of 318 medical documents concerning 100 persons held in central police stations in Madrid, Spain, from 1991 to 1994. In 71 documents concerning 44 persons the doctors quoted the detainee as alleging ill-treatment. Most of the documents appeared to lack significant information on history of ill-treatment and description of the clinical examination. Of 34 conclusions, ten were unacceptable and the premises were insufficient in 16. These observations point to weaknesses and needs for improvements in the fulfillment of the role of doctors as safeguards of the rights of detainees. Medical examinations should be conducted outside the control of police officers, by a neutral doctor using a check-list/protocol. The quality of the report should fulfill international standards.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Private security and municipal police: an atmosphere of cooperation.

The author, a former deputy chief of police, discusses the importance of mutual cooperation between private and contract security and local police agencies. He discusses the steps he took to forge a bond between his hospital security staff and the local police department.

Cooperative Behavior↗
PubMed2000

Mental health training scheme for police officers.

A previous study found that 61% of police officers said they had not received sufficient training to deal with problems involving mentally ill people. Training in this area can help police officers acquire awareness and understanding in order to aid the management of people with mental health problems. Police feedback on the training was largely positive, emphasising the potential for nationwide training on such issues.

Education↗
PubMed2002

[Psychophysiological features of fatigue in police officers during service].

Peculiar occupational factor in police officers service is intensive psycho motional and physical strain leading to performance decrease caused by fatigue, to high transitory disablement morbidity. Studies enabled to specify and put into practice effective medical and prophylactic measures, to increase performance in criminal police officers, duty officers and road police staffers.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Personality characteristics of police candidates].

AIM: The aim of the present study is an attempt to study personality characteristics of police volunteers and to determine the correlation between their age and personality features. METHOD: A number of 106 persons have been investigated, between them 12 women and 94 men in the age from 19 to 35 years. A set of standardised psychological tests has been used as a diagnostic tool, e.g. Eysenck Personality Inventory, MMPI, Raven's Test and Similarities and Vocabulary subscales from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The analysis of these correlations has been conducted by the use of the Pearson's correlation ratio. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In the investigated group the IQ results were within an average range. The analysis of the personality profiles delivered by the MMPI-test has proved that it is impossible to determine any concrete personality disturbances in police volunteers. Results achieved in the Eysneck's test eliminate the test as a diagnostic tool useful in the qualification of police volunteers no correlation has been found between age of the volunteers and their personality features.

Adult↗