Increasing Education for Police Officers in Crisis Intervention; How Boston University’s Criminal Justice Department Can Help in Training the Next Generation of Police Officers
“To protect and serve”. That is a common motto among law enforcement officers. But as Americans have watched the news in the past few years, people have realized that this motto is not as simple as it appears to be. On many calls, a law enforcement officer will protect the community by responding to radio calls, establishing probable cause, and arresting offenders when probable cause exists. They serve the community by resolving disputes and keeping noise down. But what about the cases in the middle? What about the grey-area cases where an officer has a split-second decision to decide if an individual is suffering from a mental health emergency? In these cases, the law enforcement officer must put aside the motto of protect and serve. He must revert to his academy training, draw down on the offender, give repeated orders, and if the offender does not comply, he must do the unthinkable.
An example of a grey case would be the recent death of a Georgia Tech student. On September 16, 2017, someone called 9-1-1 to report a man with a gun and a knife (Brumback, 2017). The caller, Scout Schultz, was a student at Georgia Tech and had attempted suicide before. Upon arrival, officers met with Schultz, who, after repeated orders, refused to drop the object that was in his hand. Instead, he walked toward officers with the silver object in his hand and shouted, “shoot me!” Shortly after this exclamation, Schultz was shot by a Georgia Tech police officer.
The police officer who shot Schultz was later identified as Officer Tyler Beck (Boone, 2016). Beck was hired in 2016 and had only eighteen months on the job. He was placed on paid leave. After the shooting, many people asked whether it was necessary. One of the biggest critics of the incident was Schultz’s parents. The family attorney has implied that the shooting was unnecessary since the area was contained and since no one else was at risk.
Another issue that can be noted about this shooting is the fact that Officer Beck had not received Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). CIT programs enhance communication and identify mental health resources for assisting people in crisis. CIT also improves officer safety, minimizes time spent at a call, and reduces the number of re-arrests of people with mental illness.
The original CIT program began in Memphis, Tennessee after a man with a history of mental illness and substance abuse problems was shot and killed by a Memphis police officer (Dupont & Cochran, 2000). After that shooting, the Memphis Police Department came together with the University of Memphis and the National Alliance on Mental Illness to develop a Crisis Intervention program. The coalition embarked on a great challenge because of the way law enforcement officers are trained. Police academies train recruits to identify defiance and overcome that defiance with greater force. They don’t train officers to differentiate between a person who is willfully defiant or a person whose defiance may be a sign of a mental health emergency. By decreasing the number of individuals with mental illness who are incarcerated and training law enforcement officers in effective response strategies, the University of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department’s coalition has been a huge success.
As a graduate student, I have learned a tremendous amount of information that will continue to contribute to the way I respond to various calls. Prior to taking Forensic Behavior Analysis, I didn’t know the difference between psychopathy and schizophrenia. This is frightening because the community that I serve would have expected me to respond to an individual in crisis and I wouldn’t have known how to identify what was happening. Boston University has provided me with an incredible amount of background knowledge that I can use to do my job. However, I would like my school to take one step further.
I would like to see the Metropolitan College to introduce a certificate program for individuals in crisis intervention. A certificate from such a prestigious institution would encourage law enforcement officers of all types to educate themselves on dealing with individuals who may be suffering from a mental health crisis. Just as certificate programs are provided for people who have taken specific coursework in cybercrime and management, I hope that someday one will be available for those who are interested in advancing their careers in Crisis Intervention and Trauma.
REFERENCES
Boone, Christian (September 17, 2017). “BREAKING: Listen to the 911 call in Georgia Tech shooting”. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
Brumback, Kate (September 18, 2017). “911 call about suspicious man was made by Georgia Tech student killed by police, officials say”.
Deane MW, Steadman HJ, Borum R, Veysey B, Morrissey J. Emerging partnerships between mental health and law enforcement. Psychiatric Services. 1999; 50(1):99-101.
Dupont R. and Cochran S. Police response to mental health emergencies – Barriers to change.
The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 2000; 28(3):338-344.
“Georgia Tech police shoot LGBTQ student dead”. The Guardian. September 18, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.