Every institution within our political system has been thrown into chaos in the year 2020. Every month holds a new historic event to shake the world in ways like never before. Among the most newsworthy stories of 2020 are the killings of George Floyd. Breonna Taylor, Walter Wallace Jr., Daniel Prude, Jacob Blake. These extrajudicial killings have sparked the movement to #DefundThePolice; one that calls attention towards critical conversations surrounding criminal justice reform. In the case of George Floyd, conversations around mental health have come up time and time again. It is important that this case does not become just another name to honor annually; rather it must serve as the starting point for conversation around police and criminal justice reforms through the lens of mental health practices.
This year has brought such uneasy emotions as the topic of mental health has come into the conversation at many points, including the way in which it plays a role in our criminal justice system. It is a known fact that police officers are not trained to be social workers or crisis counselors; nor are they adequately trained to de-escalate situations that involve individuals who are mentally ill. This matter was brought up in the 2020 Presidential Debate, with “Joe Biden’s suggestion during the debate that psychiatrists [should] respond to 911 calls involving persons with serious mental-health problems.” Hence, we must raise the question of what to do during this time of such civil unrest? How do we ensure that we are addressing mental health in police practices and criminal justice reform? While these questions should be brought up at the federal level with a new administration set to take office, there are ways that are state agencies can act with their own forces.
Calls for police reform must be addressed in their practices when handling crisis intervention calls. The Police Executive Research Forum conducted a survey finding that newly recruited officers only received eight hours of ‘crisis intervention’ use of force topics, compared to the 58 hours spent learning how to use firearms – a horrifying static when you put into perspective that officers are typically first responders in these crisis situations. All across the country, those individuals that have mental health conditions are impacted by the police in crisis intervention instances at disproportionate rates. When these calls are made to 911, police officers are more likely to be sent out as opposed to EMT or other health care professionals. These officers are not equipped with the training or resources to understand how to resolves mental health crises. Unfortunately, ‘these officers are trained to kill and not to de-escalate,’ and the case of Daniel Prude is no exception to this trend. Daniel Prude was an unarmed Black man killed by police force while having a mental health episode, an emblematic in the trend of unarmed individuals killed at the hands of untrained, unqualified officials. A closer analysis shows “40% of people with serious mental health conditions will interact with the criminal justice system in their lifetimes.” Those that have mental health issues are often times placed into institutions that serve no purpose in helping them get the medical attention that they need to handle their situations. Moreover, they may have kept them away from medical professionals and facilities that are equipped with the tools and resources that understand how to better help the individual.
Reform is the only answer, and it must happen immediately. There are two paths looking forward toward a common goal. First, legislation must be created and introduced that involve programs that allow for trained professionals to handle crisis scenarios instead of untrained police officers. Second, we need to start investing more resources into community-based health and mental health services that respond to mental health crisis situations, instead of untrained police officers. There are far more people with mental health conditions that are in the prison system than in care facilities like hospitals, and they do not get the medical attention that they need. Communities need a more active role in combating police brutality against individuals with mental health conditions.
Research shows the positive effects of community-based health and mental health services in responding to these calls. This is in the sense that there are trained professionals in this field that are equipped with the resources and knowledge to resolve mental health episodes instead of officers who are only trained to deescalate matters with excessive force. Organizations like CAHOOT, ‘Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets,’ are an example of community organizations working towards restorative justice. This organization has been in the works for over 30 years in Eugene, Oregon with medics and crisis responders handling ‘crisis intervention’ scenarios instead of law enforcement. “The group estimates its saved $6 million in medical services costs,” and with such a high success rate, other cities and states are beginning to follow suit with similar programs that handle a multitude of different matters. From homelessness to domestic violence, drugs and sex work, mental health and traffic accidents, substance abuse and more; these are matters that should not be handled by law enforcement. They are not properly trained in this, as they only know how to deescalate scenarios with force which often leads to more harm.
Becks Zimberg is a final-semester senior at Hunter College with a double major in Sociology and Gender Studies and double minor in Political Science and Public Policy. One of the main reasons why their capstone is heavily focused on evaluating chronically unfunded schools & burning the bridge between racialized educational outcomes is because they have been on both sides of the burning candle. As a young person of color adopted into a transracial family, they have seen educational racism firsthand and the great implications it has on academic success. They work actively in their community with other adopted children in support groups and high school-based associations.
Following graduation, they hope to attend graduate school to receive their master’s in social work, working clinically with gender minority groups in health and mental health environments.
