Establishing Mental Health Crisis Units for Law Enforcement Agencies

Publication Date

2026

Presentation Length

20 minutes

College

College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

Department

Social Work, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Jennifer Crowell Thompson

Presentation Type

Article

Summary

Mental health interventions within law enforcement continue to fall short, impacting the wellbeing of both law enforcement officers and individuals receiving crisis intervention. As law enforcement officers respond to intense situations and traumatic crime scenes, they are left with mental health repercussions that need attention. Furthermore, mental health issues within society continue to rise, resulting in a greater need for professionals with specialized training in mental health. It is estimated that police are interacting with citizens with mental health disorders 7 to 10 percent of the time they respond to calls. This brief helps to reveal the areas related to law enforcement and mental health where there is a lack of resources and care and how to bridge these gaps. To address this issue, the policy brief below encourages the enactment of House Bill 9054 and Senate Bill 0904. These bills would require the implementation of mental health professionals in law enforcement agencies as a crisis response team. It would also require consistent training standards for these alternative crisis response units, training both the mental health professionals and law enforcement officers on how to best respond to calls related to mental health. Implementing this policy could change the interaction between law enforcement and citizens and improve law enforcement violence rates in the future.

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