Analyzing Body Worn Camera Footage Using an Objective Instrument

• In Event: Policing Drug Crimes and the Influence of Body Worn Cameras: Impacts and Implications

Abstract

Police officers are often the primary responding agency for an individual experiencing a mental health crisis, and must decide between psychiatric care, arrest, or an alternative informal resolution. People with a serious mental illness encountering law enforcement are at a much greater likelihood of experiencing use of force or being injured as compared to their counterparts without a mental illness. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance that officers are well-trained in crisis response. This presentation will focus on the assessment of police interactions with persons in mental health crisis using a validated objective instrument that consists of both performance indicators and difficulty factors. In addition to comparing differences in scores before and after an 8-hour Introduction to Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, researchers will describe lessons learned while using this instrument and how police departments and other researchers could harness its potential.

Authors

• Laura N. Honegger, University of St. Francis

• Stacy Dewald, Arkansas State University

• Maria Hernandez Green, Unaffiliated

• Anastasios Goulos, University of St. Francis