ABSTRACT
This book explores the relationship between policing and mental health. Police services around the world are innovating at pace in order to develop solutions to the problems presented, and popular models are being shared internationally. Nevertheless, disparities and perceptions of unfairness remain commonplace. Innovations remain poorly funded and largely unproven.
Drawing together the insights of eminent academics in the UK, the US, Australia and South Africa, the edited collection evaluates the condition of mental health and policing as an interlocked policy area, uncovering and addressing a number of key issues which are shaping police responses to mental health. Due to a relative lack of academic texts pertaining to developments in England and Wales, the volume contains a distinct section on relevant policies and practices. It also includes sections on US and Australian approaches, focusing on Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs), Mental Health Intervention Teams (MHITs), stressors and innovations from Boston in the US to Queensland in Australia.
Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars in policing, criminology, sociology, mental health, cultural studies, social theory and those interested in learning about the condition and trajectory of police responses to mental health.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
section Section I|62 pages
Comparisons between Australia and the UK
chapter Chapter 2|21 pages
Accessing justice for mentally ill people
chapter Chapter 3|24 pages
New paradigms of policing mental illness in Australia
section Section II|60 pages
Comparisons between the US and the UK
chapter Chapter 4|21 pages
Investment v impact in policing and mental health
chapter Chapter 6|18 pages
Police response to people with mental illnesses in a major US city
section Section III|78 pages
Perspectives from England and Wales
chapter Chapter 7|22 pages
Examining the relationship between policing and section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983
chapter Chapter 8|16 pages
‘This isn’t just a case of taking someone to the hospital’
section Section IV|89 pages
The mental health of police officers and staff