Publication Type: Invited Paper

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: In the mid-1980’s, Memphis became the center of a grassroots movement to raise awareness and affect changes in how law enforcement responded to crisis calls involving the mentally ill (Dupont and Cochran, 2001). As a result of this push for change, a new prototype for policing evolved known as the Crisis Intervention Team, or the CIT model. CIT programs have since sprung up all over the country with more than 30 US states having at least one CIT initiative or program. Because of the grassroots evolution of CIT and the decentralized origins of the national movement, evaluation and research strategies to measure the effectiveness of CIT programs has necessarily lacked standardization. There is a tremendous amount of diversity among CIT programs. The strengths resulting from this diversity also contribute to the challenges of making valid comparisons between programs. This poster session will share a proposed minimum data set to help guide developing and established programs in their efforts to better plan for future program evaluations.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: In 1987, a man with a history of mental illness was fatally shot by Memphis police officers. The ensuing political crisis and significant public outcry led to the formation of a special task force. This novel task force was comprised of NAMI representatives, other advocates, police officials and mental health professionals. The result of their collaboration, known as the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) approach, was a new concept that would equip patrolling beat officers with specialized expertise to be able to respond immediately to individuals in mental health crisis. This innovative model revolutionized police and mental health practices in the community and became a strong impetus leading to cultural change among law enforcement within the Memphis area. Steadily, the CIT model spread throughout the country and today, there are more than 30 states with recognizable CIT efforts. Now, twenty years later, advocates, public officials, and researchers alike are working to understand the successes and failures of CIT. Does CIT work? How do we know it works? What about CIT works? What does it mean to say, "it works"? This research takes a critical look at the evaluation studies and other research related to CIT in an attempt to answer some of these questions. Some important challenges for improving methodological rigor in measuring CIT outcomes are also presented.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) are being implemented in police departments
across the country that are hoping to reduce injuries to officers and persons
with mental illness, decrease arrests, increase diversion of persons with
mental illness to the mental health system, and improve linkages to mental
health services. Scant literature exists, however, examining the effectiveness
of CIT and barriers to its implementation. We have developed a conceptual model
for considering CIT effectiveness that incorporates officer, organizational,
and community factors. This model was used to examine the Chicago Police
Department’s CIT program that recently was recently expanded from a pilot
project in two districts to a citywide program in all 25 districts. Data was
collected from the two pilot districts and two similar districts just beginning
to implement CIT. CIT trained and nonCIT trained officers (N=240) completed
structured interviews about calls involving persons with mental illness at
baseline and several follow-up points. Qualitative interviews were conducted
with key informants (n=20) in each study district. Additionally, official
documentation of calls and community data were extracted. Preliminary data
suggest CIT has an impact on police officers' ability to respond to
persons with mental illness, and points to organizational and community
factors that influence effectiveness.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Communities throughout the country are seeking answers to managing mental health crisis issues and services. Mental health advocates have long asserted that law enforcement personnel often do not receive adequate mental health training, resulting in ineffective and sometimes fatal encounters or outcomes. In 1988, Memphis introduced the first Crisis Intervention Team as a vital component to the community's demand for safer first responder crisis services. CIT partnerships led to changes in existing systems and stimulated the development of new infrastructures for services/care. This paper will consider incidents of police officer injuries resulting from calls for service involving mental health consumers between 1985 and 1997. This analysis offers to shed new light on the effectiveness of the CIT approach and strategies that other communities may want to consider in addressing issues regarding mental illness.