Perception de différentes dimensions de la psychiatrie par les agents de police : étude sur 191 policiers parisiens

Introduction

Psychiatric pathologies are widespread in the general population and rank third among the most frequent pathologies in the world, according to the World Health Organization, affecting nearly one in four people over their lifetime. Police officers in France are often required to intervene with people suffering from psychiatric disorders when they are involved in disturbances to public order. However, despite the frequency of these interventions in France, only a few specific training courses in psychiatry are made available to police officers. There has not been any research conducted in France on this subject. The objective of our study was to explore the perception of different dimensions of psychiatry (symptoms, treatments, prevalence, and dangerousness) by the Parisian police through an exploratory study.

Method

A self-administered questionnaire was sent to Parisian police officers through an internal mailing list. The questionnaire was comprised of 25 questions divided into five sub-sections. The first section of the questionnaire concerned the demographic and professional characteristics of the participants (age, gender, rank, and years of experience). The second section explored the exposure (personal and professional) of police officers to psychiatry. The third and fourth sections were devoted to questions about training in psychiatry and their perception of the different dimensions of psychiatry. The last section of the questionnaire was dedicated to any comments regarding the questionnaire.

Results

One hundred and ninety-one Parisian police officers – 106 men (56%) and 83 women (43%) – responded to the questionnaire and many of them reported frequent exposure to psychiatry (two-thirds say they are involved at least once a month with patients suffering from psychiatric disorders). The most frequently encountered problems were delusional ideas, agitation, suicide attempts or suicides, behavioral problems related to substance abuse, and hallucinations. We generally found benevolent attitudes on the part of the police. The police officers questioned evoked: mistrust (94.7%), empathy (46.8%), fear (37.4%), incomprehension (32.9%), and a negative judgment (8.4%), and 84% of the police officers reported an increased risk of using force during interventions involving people with psychiatric disorders. These results can be partly explained by the impairment of discernment found in people with decompensated psychiatric disorders, communication difficulties between police and patients, and the lack of training in the management or recognition of such symptoms. In addition, the majority of the participants reported feeling insufficiently trained in psychiatry and were in favor of the implementation of specific training courses either during their studies or as an element in their professional career: three-quarters of the police officers questioned never had any training in psychiatry during their studies or since taking up their post, and 80% of the police officers said they were inadequately trained to evaluate and deal with situations involving psychiatric disorders. The police officers largely favored specific training: 82.7% of them would like to be more trained in psychiatry during their studies or on the job, thus underlining a desire to be better prepared for these interventions.

Conclusion

This study is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind in France on this subject. Several results are consistent with those of international scientific literature and highlight the frequent exposure of Parisian police officers to people with psychiatric disorders and the officers’ mostly benevolent, understanding, and non-stigmatizing attitudes. Nevertheless, police officers remain insufficiently trained in psychiatry, and this lack of training can be the source of communication difficulties, mistrust, or fear and thus increase the risk of the use of force. The majority of the study participants favor implementing these training courses, particularly with respect to the management of agitation and behavioral disorders, which are the symptoms most frequently encountered during these interventions. This study remains exploratory but could inform future work, mainly in implementing and evaluating specific psychiatric training for police officers.