Policing the Mentally Ill (Update)

 

We (The Advisory Commission for Persons with Disabilities) will be speaking with law enforcement this evening about interactions between the police and with people with mental health issues. It isn't just autism. Among the other disorders, Personality Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, Psychotic Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Impulse Control Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Mood Disorders.

"More than 1 in 5 people fatally shot by police have mental illnesses, according to a Washington Post database of fatal U.S. shootings by on-duty police officers. Since 2015, when The Post launched its database, police have fatally shot more than 1,400 people with mental illnesses. Angela Kimball, national director of advocacy and public policy for NAMI, said she believes the numbers are so high because people in mental health crises do not always respond in ways officers want them to. "Police are trained to respond to a situation with a goal of protecting public safety and their own safety," she said. "They are used to using interventions that are designed to contain somebody that is perceived as a danger." Kimball said that during mental health crises, the presence of police officers, coupled with the uniforms and shouting, is quite often "counterintuitive" and that it can lead to tragedy. Many law enforcement agencies use the "Memphis Model" for crisis intervention training, or CIT. Kimball said the program requires about 40 hours of training in mental health diagnoses, drug use issues and de-escalation tactics. "It's really more of a concept of community engagement. Part of it is about law enforcement developing those connections with homeless shelters and with community mental health systems like hospitals so that everybody is working together," Kimball said. Last year, the FCC designated 988 as a nationwide number for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services and is set to go live in July 2022. Kimball said the number will be a good alternative to 911 because "there's a mobile crisis team of behavioral health professionals who can help defuse the situation, connect people to treatment and get them on a path to recovery."

Autism Speaks came up with these guidelines:

A person with autism might:

• Have an impaired sense of danger.
• Wander to bodies of water, traffic or other dangers.
• Be overwhelmed by police presence.
• Fear a person in uniform (ex. fire turnout gear) or exhibit curiosity and reach for objects/equipment (ex. shiny badge or handcuffs).
• React with "fight" or "flight".
• Not respond to "stop" or other commands.
• Have delayed speech and language skills.
• Not respond to his/her name or verbal commands.
• Avoid eye contact.
• Engage in repetitive behavior (ex. rocking, stimming, hand flapping, spinning).
• Have sensory perception issues.
• Have epilepsy or seizure disorder.

If a first responder is able to identify that a child or adult may have autism, he or she can then respond in a way that best supports the individual. 

When interacting with a person with autism:

• Be patient and give the person space.
• Use simple and concrete sentences.
• Give plenty of time for person to process and respond.
• Be alert to signs of increased frustration and try to eliminate the source if possible as behavior may escalate.
• Avoid quick movements and loud noises.
• Do not touch the person unless absolutely necessary.
• Use information from caregiver, if available, on how to best respond.

General training guidelines*:

• Law enforcement agencies should proactively train their sworn workforce, especially trainers, patrol supervisors, and school resource officers, to recognize the behavioral symptoms and characteristics of a child or adult who has autism, and learn basic response techniques.
• A training program should be designed to allow officers to better protect and serve the public and make the best use of your valuable time, and avoid mistakes that can lead to lawsuits and negative media scrutiny, loss of confidence from the community, morale problems, and lifelong trauma for all involved.
• A good autism recognition and response workshop is designed to inform law enforcement professionals about the risks associated with autism, and offers suggestions and options about how to address those risks.

UPDATE 

The training officer that said he was willing to go over their protocols for dealing with people that have emotional and mental challenges could not attend our meeting. He gave us thumb drive with his presentation, but that left us with more questions than answers.

People With Learning Disabilities and the ‘System.’

jaikishan patel

There's got to be a better way

 

According to federal data analyzed by the Center for Public Integrity, students with disabilities, Black children and on some campuses, Native American and Latino children, have been disproportionately impacted by policing in schools. Leading San Diego County in law enforcement referrals were schools that serve students with behavioral or other special needs — including those who have already encountered the juvenile court system.

 

Nationwide, nearly 230,000 students were reported to law enforcement during the 2017-18 school year, the most recent data available. Black children and students with disabilities were referred at nearly twice their share of the overall student population.   (Center for Public Integrity and USA TODAY and CBS8

 

The subject of the CBS8 report was 13-year-old Joshua Savala. Savala, who went to school in San Diego, is on the autism spectrum. He was often bullied at school.   

 

“A quiet kid with autism, he struggled to be accepted by some of his peers at Lakeside Middle School — so much so that his mother says they reported 16 bullying incidents in one year.” 

 

“The last time, a student pushed Joshua from behind, causing him to fall and hit his head on concrete. He traveled to a children’s hospital in an ambulance that his mother called after he later complained of neck pain.”

 

“Other kids told school officials that Joshua made a verbal threat to “shoot up” the campus after the assault. Joshua denies the claim. Lakeside Middle reported him to police, anyway.”

 

He ended up in the system.

 

“According to the statistics the San Diego Unified School District, Black students comprised about 8% of enrollment but made up nearly 19% of referrals. Students with disabilities made up more than 30% of referrals but only 14% of the population.  

 

The bulk of the district’s alternative schools reported rates more than 20 times the national average.”  (CBS8)

A Better Future?

 

The police should not be expected to take on the full load of responsibility for these situations. The schools bear responsibility for keeping everybody safe. That does not mean the police are exempt. Here’s what one police force in Great Britain is doing.

South Yorkshire Police is committed to becoming more accessible to those with autism as part of our journey to being a recognized ‘Autism Friendly’ organization.

There are many people affected by autism across South Yorkshire.

Protecting those who are vulnerable is a force priority, and we want to ensure we can adequately meet the needs of those people who may benefit from additional support in their interactions with us.

So far as a force we have:

• Introduced Autism Alert Cards, enabling police and other emergency services to communicate with autistic residents more effectively and helping those on the autism spectrum feel more comfortable in what could potentially be an extremely stressful situation.
• Provide ‘passports’, a document you can show to people that explains your communication styles and presentations, for situations such as travel hubs or shopping malls where it may not be the police you need.
• Introduced fidget cubes and widgets - easy to read materials to explain what will happen - in custody suites, to help reduce anxiety.
• Installed autism single points of contact or ‘SPOCS’ in all districts who are able to provide specialist knowledge and support to people across the force.
• A regular presence on Local Authority Autism Boards.
• Provided Autism Awareness training across the force to front line staff and staff in custody, enquiry desk and call handler roles.
• Continue to work with NAS and Autism & Learning Disability NHS Teams on projects to improve outcomes for those that have contact with the Criminal Justice System.

Autism Alert Cards are available to anyone of any age, if they are able to provide us with a copy of their formal diagnosis from their GP, information that they are awaiting a diagnosis or similar and a passport sized photo. The cards are free.

I did not address what happens when the learning-disabled age out of the system and become adults.  In a survey of 18,185 inmates in state and federal correctional facilities, researchers found that the prevalence of disability was significantly higher than the non-institutionalized population, finding that 41% of inmates reported having a disability. Learning disabilities were the most commonly reported disability.

Information on the Prevalence of Learning Disabilities in the ...

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