Poster #169 - Perceptions of Law Enforcement’s Role Responding to Mental Health Crises: Implementation of Reform in Virginia

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

In 2018, Marcus-David Peters, a 24-year old African American high school biology teacher suffered a mental health crisis and was killed by law enforcement who were called to respond to the incident. His family and other advocates of mental health reform within the context of policing have argued that Marcus-David Peters’ life may have been saved if the responding officers were better trained to deal with mental health crisis. This poster presents quantitative data from two surveys, analyzed to assess public opinion on mental illness, law enforcement, and crime. Respondents agree “when someone is in a mental health or suicide crisis, they should receive a mental health response, not a police response” (82%). Respondents who indicated that it would “hurt” to call 911 if a loved one was having a mental health crisis were asked why they thought this and the most common response was that “police are untrained to deal with mental health/safety concerns for people in mental health crisis.” These findings underscore a need for stakeholders to consider appropriate behavioral and mental health interventions rather than rely solely on a law enforcement response. Implications for policy consideration will be discussed, with special attention to Virginia’s Marcus-David Peters Act.

Authors

• Raechel Erler, Christopher Newport University

• Sarah Koon-Magnin, Christopher Newport University

• Steven Keener, Christopher Newport University

• Christina Mancini, Virginia Commonwealth University