ABSTRACT
Concerns about the frequency and nature of police contact with people experiencing mental illness are longstanding, with commentary now spanning some 45 years (Bitner, 1967; Lurigio & Watson, 2010). The idea that a best practise model of policing when it comes to these encounters can be (1) conceptualised, (2) articulated, and (3) realised is therefore clearly a highly seductive one and something that scholars and practitioners alike would obviously aspire toward. The challenge faced is that trying to propose a model that can be generalised to all situations and jurisdictions runs the real risk of being overly generic, and therefore of only limited practical utility to policy makers and operational members. On the other hand, suggesting
Introduction 121 How Frequently and In What Context Do Police Encounter Mental Illness? 122
The Situation in Police Custody 123 The Broader Context of Community Policing 124 Police Completing a Mini Mental Status Examination 124
Focussing on Improved Outcomes 126 Implementation of a Screening Tool for Identifying Mental Illness 128 Training 129 Future Directions: Moving Beyond the Abstract Into the Concrete 131 References 133 Suggested Reading 136
something too specific could mean that the idiosyncrasies and diversity of different settings/ environments render the model pretty much impotent outside of those narrowly defined parameters. This chapter sets out to describe some of the key findings that have arisen in the context of a programme of research exploring police encounters with people with mental illness across the state of Victoria in Australia, and considers how this evidence base could help inform best practise.
