ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some insight into the variety of mentally ill citizens that officers are most likely to encounter in their patrol work. It offers practical strategies for dealing with mentally ill citizens in a way that preserves the balance between respect for individual rights and dignity, and enforcing the law and maintaining social order within the community. The chapter offers specific advice for handling subjects with particular kinds of mental disorder, and this material can be used by mental health and behavioral science professionals as the foundation for training curricula in police psychology. While not intended as a formal course in psychopathology and psychotherapy, this information is focused toward the kind of street-level crisis intervention that virtually all officers inevitably have to deal with in their patrol activities. Training in mental health issues is becoming more and more common in law enforcement curricula; hopefully, at some point in the near future, it is a standard component of police training.
