Law enforcement and Disability awareness

Abstract image of curvy lines. Law enforcement and Disability awareness.

Overview. Studies demonstrate that individuals with an intellectual and developmental disability often have more encounters with law enforcement. The interaction between both the police department and other communities have arisen concerns Most officers are not charged because they often dispute that the encountered deemed a risk ..

Visible vs. invisible. Disability varies amongst individuals. It is a complex to define because there are different criteria and factors. During one's lifespan disability can be temporary or permanent..

Enhancing law enforcement. Police departments are often criticized due to previous encounters however a change is starting to be implemented to reduce stigma. There is training in place that is focusing on everyday conduct, approach, and standards. According to Goode 2016, there are statistics that demonstrate that 25% of people being fatally shot by the police have had a mental health disorder..

There are executive directors that dispute that training isn’t sufficient because " standardized training does not guarantee standardized performance, and more training does not necessarily or automatically reduce the incident rate” Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) It is a community partnership that focuses on the needs of mental health individuals. Not all Local Law Enforcement Departments have a CIT, for example Los Angeles Police Department discontinued their CIT program in 2003. Me ntal Health Evaluation Unit (MEU).

Dispatch. Welfare and Institution Code 5150. This code can be employed when individual is a harm to themselves or others. When implementing the 5150, a person is detained and held for 72 hours and within that time lapse there is assessments, evaluations, and crisis intervention treatment. The dispatch center is a very crucial portion of law enforcement response and sometimes the information isn’t sufficient. Communication and interaction over the phone training..

Training and implementation. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to better serve the community. From articles and media attention it is noticeable that the department is attempting to enact changes to better understand minorities..

References. Mather, Kate, and James Queally. "More than a Third of People Shot by L.A. Police Last Year Were Mentally Ill, LAPD Report Finds." Los Angeles Times . N.p., 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. Perry, David M., and Lawrence Carter-Long. "How Misunderstanding Disability Leads to Police Violence." The Atlantic . Atlantic Media Company, 6 May 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015. Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Perry, David M., and Lawrence Carter-Long. The Ruderman White Paper on Media Coverage of Law Enforcement Use of Force and Disability . Working paper. N.p.: n.p., 2016. Print. Allison Crowe, Paige Averett , Heidi Bonner, Cheyenne Franks, “Let them know it’s okay to get help”: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Police Officers, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 10.1007/s10488-022-01187-1, (2022) Mather, Kate, and James Queally. "More than a Third of People Shot by L.A. Police Last Year Were Mentally Ill, LAPD Report Finds." Los Angeles Times . N.p. , 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. Perry, David M., and Lawrence Carter-Long. "How Misunderstanding Disability Leads to Police Violence." The Atlantic . Atlantic Media Company, 6 May 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. 2015. Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Perry, David M., and Lawrence Carter-Long. The Ruderman White Paper on Media Coverage of Law Enforcement Use of Force and Disability . Working paper. N.p.: n.p., 2016. Print..