Law Enforcement and Critical Incident Training

Abstract

This research study is a convergent mixed methods design study focusing on Critical Incident Training and Law Enforcement involvement with People with Mental Illness (PwMI). The Southern New Hampshire police department in this study has approximately 201 officers and the city has a population of around 114,00 citizens. The exact number of people with mental illness (PwMI) is unknown due to unreported illnesses.

Approximately 1,000 people in the United States were fatally shot by police officers during 2018, and people with mental illness (PwMI) were involved in 25 percent of these fatalities (Rogers MS, McNeil DE, Binder RL, 2019). Critical Incident Training (CIT) teaches law enforcement how to understand, interact, and aid a PwMI. CIT is a 40-hour training class taught by mental health professionals to aid officers with the tools they need. A CIT team is comprised of a mental health worker and a police officer and together they go into the community when needed and bring mental health aid to PwMI.

The CIT certified officers in this study completed a Qualtrics survey of 25 questions and eight of the CIT officers were interviewed to find out their thoughts to 14 questions. This was done to find out if CIT is good mental health training for this Southern NH police department. The CIT officers involved in this study were in favor of their coworkers being trained in CIT as it was deemed a useful tool to add to their skillset.