"Up to 50% of fatal encounters with law enforcement involve someone with a mental illness, a 2016 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine estimated. And nearly 1 in 4 people fatally shot by police since 2015 had a mental illness, including a disproportionate number of people of color, according to a Washington Post database of fatal shootings by on-duty officers." - USA Today, April 5, 2021.
In response, some cities ranging from Denver to Olympia have created a different kind of model of intervention. It's bringing in mental health professionals to address the flashpoints. Law enforcement is not in the loop.
Life has always been full of flashpoints. At one time, families, those on a street block and even parts of neighborhoods would be able to de-escalate the chaos on their own. They knew the people. They knew the backstories.
Law enforcement was rarely called. After all, in those communities - many of them immigrant - there was distrust of the law. No, you didn't want to get dragged into that system. Most knew it would be almost impossible to navigate it.
Then, with the isolation and sophistication of society, law enforcement had been parachuted in. The results, as the legal community bears witness in the arrest of Boies Schiller partner Joshua Schiller, can be professionally catastrophic. His brand and the brand of his law firm are in play.
But, more importantly, fatalities can happen. Law enforcement carries guns.
Mental health personnel are trained to address the human touchpoints where the emotions rip. They go right there, without preoccupation with legalities. In a sense it is a more direct form of intervention. Also, it provides needed empathy.
The Woody Allen notion of maintenance therapy has created the illusion that therapeutic intervention is about talking about feelings. Forever. Actually, competent therapists are focused on identifying and implementing solutions for problems. Many emergency rooms have them as part of the team.
More cities should establish a pilot program to test out interventions of mental-health professionals.
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