Families who have called New York City police for help during a psychiatric crisis say the 14 hours worth of training is not enough to handle the complex emergency. Last week's release of a report from New York State with recommendations for treatment and diversion programs was heralded by advocates. Since 1988, when the police in Memphis, Tenn., designed what is now considered a model program in crisis intervention, cities nationwide have implemented similar programs. Often they work with family advocates, mental health professionals, and people with a mental illness who have been through the system. Too often cities do not respond until after a crisis, usually the death of a mentally ill suspect.

While crisis intervention teams share similar goals, unique programs have emerged to address issues specific to local communities and to train personnel. In Oklahoma City, according to information posted on the CIT webpage, conducts annual trainings to maintain a staff of at least 100 at any time. In Los Angeles, 20 percent of the force is trained. Houston boasts that it is the largest force in the nation with "829 CIT officers in patrol and 260 CIT trained officers in non-patrol assignments." Starting in 2007, all cadets received 40 hours of training, up from the previous 16, and about one-quarter of the force will be trained. New York State recently issued a report

In New York City, Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities (RIPPD) brought together relatives and experts in the prisons and courts on June 4 to discuss diverting people with a mental illness into treatment rather than jail. On the panel at the RIPPD conference were:

Maria Angelina Ortiz, regrets calling 911 when her son showed signs of paranoia and confused thinking. The officers who came to her apartment treated her son as a if he were a criminal rather than sick. Her experience has fueled activism to see that police are trained to intervene in a crisis. For a webcam of Ortiz's presentation, click here.

The death of her brother David following a call to police propelled Jean Griffin to become an advocate for training police in techniques for helping, and subduing when necessary, people with a psychiatric illness. She discussed her responses to learning from an autopsy report showing 18 taser burns with nine broken facial bones. The police who responded to the 911-call were neighbors, friends, and classmates. For a webcam of Griffin's presentation, click here.

Award winning journalist Mary Beth Pfeiffer described writing stories about the intersection of people with mental illness with the police for the Poughkeepsie Journal. She recounted one of them, about young person whose life changed four days after her 16th birthday when the law required the police treat her as an adult rather than a child despite the illness all knew she had. Her story is repeated in her book, Crazy in America: The Hidden Tragedy of our Criminalized Mentally Ill."

Marquez Claxton, a retired detective from the New York City Police Department, describes the need to train officers to work with people who have a mental illness. Currently, Claxton says, they are brushed with the label, "EDPs," which stands for "emotionally disturbed persons" They are trained to believe these will be the most dangerous calls they will have, anticipating they will be hurt or killed. Claxton is a member of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. For a webcam of Claxton's presentation, click here.

Roughly three percent of police calls involve a person with mental illness. For New York City, this means roughly 90,000 calls. Terence McCormick addressed the tension between two systems -- police and mental health, and the implications for coordinating programs. He is now a consultant, and formerly directed the Community Forensic Services at the New York State Office of Mental Health.For a webcam of McCormick's presentation, click here.

Don Kamin, a psychologist in Rochester, New York, explained how crisis intervention training has led to less force, fewer injuries, lower arrest rates, more treatment and reduced stigma and fear. For a webcam of Kamin's presentation, click here.

MIWatch Related Entries

• Angry about the death of Iman Morales (Oct 04, 2008)
• Training police for crisis intervention started in Memphis, Tenn., in 1988. (Sep 17, 2008)
• Marquez Claxton (Jun 16, 2008)