Do Crisis Intervention Teams Reduce Arrests and Officer Injury? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Evidence-Based Crime Policy IV

Abstract

Until the 1950s, state mental health hospitals accommodated the majority of individuals suffering from mental illness. Today, however, following the emptying of state mental hospitals, persons with serious mental illness without adequate private care are three times more likely to be housed in a jail or prison than in a hospital (Torrey et al. 2010). The consequences associated with increased interaction between the criminal justice system and the mentally ill necessitates a comprehensive strategy that targets improvement in interaction between the criminal justice system and the mentally ill. The process that initiates the movement of the mentally ill from the community to institutions of control begins at arrest. The Memphis model of Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) is a widely adopted program implemented in police departments in an effort to reduce reliance on incarceration as mental health institutions, and to train officers about mental illness. This paper reports on the findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of CITs on arrests of persons with mental illness and police officer safety. Implications for policy, practice, and further research are discussed.

Author

• Sema A. Taheri, Northeastern University