Specialized Mental Health Crisis Response Activities Within US Law Enforcement Agencies.

IF 1.7 4区医学 Q3 HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES

Community Mental Health Journal Pub Date : 2025-08-04 DOI:10.1007/s10597-025-01507-3

Zoe Lindenfeld, Amanda I Mauri, Saba Rouhani, Charley E Willison

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the prevalence of specialized police responses to persons experiencing a mental health crisis across U.S. law enforcement agencies and explores whether organizational and community factors are associated with their presence.

Methods: This study used 2020 data from a nationally representative survey of over 2,500 law enforcement agencies. The primary outcomes included whether agencies implemented one of four responses: (1) designated unit, (2) designated personnel, (3) addressed mental health without designated unit or personnel, or (4) did not address. Logistic regression models assessed factors associated with each response type.

Results: Over half (51.0%, n = 1,349) of agencies addressed mental health but lacked designated units or personnel, while 6.9% (n = 183) did not specifically address mental health. Larger agencies, agencies located in urban areas, as well as those with external partnerships, and a higher number of use of force complaints were significantly more likely to designate a unit or personnel.

Conclusions: Fewer than half of law enforcement agencies have responses for mental health crises. Further research is needed to identify barriers and facilitators to adopting specialized responses, particularly among rural and under-resourced agencies.

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美国执法机构内专门的心理健康危机应对活动。

目的：本研究考察了美国执法机构对经历心理健康危机的人的专业警察反应的普遍性，并探讨了组织和社区因素是否与他们的存在有关。方法：本研究使用了来自2500多个执法机构的全国代表性调查的2020年数据。主要结果包括机构是否实施了以下四种回应之一：(1)指定单位，(2)指定人员，(3)在没有指定单位或人员的情况下处理心理健康问题，或(4)不处理。逻辑回归模型评估了与每种反应类型相关的因素。结果：超过一半（51.0%,n = 1349）的机构处理心理健康问题，但缺乏指定的单位或人员，而6.9% （n = 183）的机构没有专门处理心理健康问题。较大的机构、设在城市地区的机构以及有外部伙伴关系的机构以及对使用武力的投诉较多的机构更有可能指定一个单位或人员。结论：只有不到一半的执法机构对心理健康危机有应对措施。需要进一步研究，以确定采取专门对策的障碍和促进因素，特别是在农村和资源不足的机构中。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Community Mental Health Journal Multiple-

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

3.70%

发文量

133

期刊介绍： Community Mental Health Journal focuses on the needs of people experiencing serious forms of psychological distress, as well as the structures established to address those needs. Areas of particular interest include critical examination of current paradigms of diagnosis and treatment, socio-structural determinants of mental health, social hierarchies within the public mental health systems, and the intersection of public mental health programs and social/racial justice and health equity. While this is the journal of the American Association for Community Psychiatry, we welcome manuscripts reflecting research from a range of disciplines on recovery-oriented services, public health policy, clinical delivery systems, advocacy, and emerging and innovative practices.