Washington police say responding to mental health crises has become a bigger part of police work over the past decade, and that police crisis training levels have improved as mental health trends worsen across the country. Ta.
“All I can say is that we are responding to these types of calls more frequently than we have in years past,” Police Chief Jim Armstrong said. “So, I don’t know if there are more people like that. Whether it’s a matter of people’s awareness that it’s easier to attract these people or not, we certainly are catering to more people. ”
Earlier this week, The Missourian reported that there had been a number of suicides and attempted suicides in public places around Washington in just a few days. Police said at the time that they respond to these emergency calls more often than the public realizes. Lt. Steve Stause said officers have come to rely on Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training as well as other parts of their training.
“We respond to CIT-type calls every day,” Sitzes said.
Officers agreed that the level of training has increased in recent years as the public’s understanding of mental health and other responses to personal crises has changed.
“Going back over 15 years, we were just trying our best. We really were. We had very limited resources because there was no education,” Armstrong said.
It takes 40 hours to complete the basic CIT course. While not all police training schools in Missouri require or even have her CIT certification, the Washington Police Department requires all highway officers to have her CIT certification. is required. In fact, Washington State was one of the first to implement his CIT in the state 10 years ago and was recognized by former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon in 2015. missouri report.
“We recognized the need and thought it was important. Up until then, police officers had not received mental health training on how to deal with someone in crisis.” said Armstrong. “And now, with this specialized training, they know better how to manage it.”
Schitz explained that CIT training can be further advanced, including refresher advanced classes for officers and specialized training for working with youth and veterans. All WPD school resource officers are required to complete youth training, Schitz said.
Sitz added that dispatchers are also CIT certified and can help connect callers with the right resources for their situation. Its importance is increasing as the number of calls increases.
Armstrong said Washington’s experience “absolutely” mirrors the national trend. US medical experts, including the nation’s top doctor, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, said mental health is deteriorating across the country and has been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
A study published in December by the American Psychological Association surveyed 561 licensed psychologists and found that 52% of patients had severe symptoms.
Missouri, in particular, suffers from more mental health problems than other states. Each year, the nonprofit organization Mental Health America ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their collective mental health, taking into account the prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse and the availability of care. In 2023, Missouri ranked 39th, indicating that the state “has a high prevalence of mental illness and low rates of access to care among adults.”
Armstrong noted that CIT calls often center on interrelated issues such as drug and alcohol abuse and poverty, and that police cannot respond to all of them. One of the WPD officers serves as a liaison with the Franklin County CIT Council. The council is an organization that coordinates medical and counseling services with law enforcement agencies to strategize on such issues.
Armstrong said the council helps open and maintain communication channels between agencies that address mental health crises. The ability to recognize individuals who are frequently in crisis and reach out to a counselor for support can save lives.
“The important thing is to build relationships,” the chief said.
Both officers said staffing issues have made this part of the job difficult. Sitz said when a patient needs to be transported to Mercy South Hospital, which happens about once a week, officers are diverted from their stations around the city. The department must then call in an off-duty officer to fill the vacancy. Sitz added that police are not the only ones facing this dilemma.
“We’re in short supply, we’re in short supply of mental health (professionals), so it’s all about how to do this and manage this better,” Sitz said.
Police said there were no easy solutions to the problems caused by poor mental health. Still, they said the conversation about these issues is much different today than in years past, leading to a deeper level of awareness of these struggles. That’s true even within the walls of police headquarters, where WPD requires officers themselves to meet with a counselor annually. Schitz said the policy helped create a more caring culture in the force.
“There was an unspoken, ‘Don’t do that’ kind of thing. You couldn’t bring them in,” Sitz said of the department’s approach to mental health professionals in the past. “Now it’s, ‘We’re going to work on these issues.'”
