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Title: The Role of Law Enforcement in the Management of Mental Health Crises in the Emergency Department

Abstract: This study examines the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement in the treatment of acute mental crises, including the tasks beyond the street and the triage stage. Through analysis of interviews about 51 separate treatment events and 32 in-depth interviews with staff of the hospital, we discovered that law enforcement performs four roles: initiating the treatment process, verbally facilitating patient compliance, applying physical restraints, and communicating care plans with healthcare providers. In performing these roles, police officers are reported to take coercive actions. However, they rarely enforce criminal laws when an individual in crisis is already in the custody of a medical facility. This finding suggests that law enforcement can engage in therapeutic policing while avoiding additional burdens of criminal sanctions. It is theorized as one of the heterogeneous courses of action available to law enforcement that can be differently enacted depending on the situation, which differs from the socialization perspective that emphasizes consistent behavior across situations. Moreover, this study suggests that police contacts with individuals in crisis may continue at the emergency department despite the efforts to divert some police contacts on the street.

PCS meets on Tuesdays at 12:30–2:00 PM in Room 8108, Sewell Social Sciences Building.

You can also join on Zoom:

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/96451420275?pwd=Z3cZDyWdxoEb2q7Ys3cbQlFAjnXjfs.1

Meeting ID: 964 5142 0275
Passcode: 165604

Contact Chad Alan Goldberg (cagoldberg@wisc.edu) or Anna Milewski (aomilewski@wisc.edu) with questions.

Website: https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc/pcs/