EXPANSION OF THE POLICE ROLE IN RESPONDING TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS: DRIVING FACTORS, RACE INEQUITIES AND THE NEED TO REBALANCE ROLES
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Watson, AC, El-Sabawi, T. (2023). EXPANSION OF THE POLICE ROLE IN RESPONDING TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS: DRIVING FACTORS, RACE INEQUITIES AND THE NEED TO REBALANCE ROLES
. LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS, 86(1),
Watson, AC, El-Sabawi, T. (2023). EXPANSION OF THE POLICE ROLE IN RESPONDING TO MENTAL HEALTH CRISES OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS: DRIVING FACTORS, RACE INEQUITIES AND THE NEED TO REBALANCE ROLES
. LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS, 86(1),
Tragic police shootings of people experiencing mental health crises, along with recognition of the overrepresentation of people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal legal system, have garnered several decades of research and policy attention. Substantial resources have been focused on improving law enforcement’s ability to safely provide response to people experiencing mental health crises in the community, diverting people with serious mental illnesses away from the criminal legal system, and providing mental health focused programming within the criminal legal system. Despite these efforts, overrepresentation of people with serious mental illnesses remains across all points along the criminal legal continuum. Black persons and other persons of color, who are already over-policed and incarcerated, are disproportionately impacted.
