The CSG Justice Center Releases Strategies for Effective Law Enforcement Training at National CIT Conference

On November 7, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released the most recent BJA-supported resource on law enforcement/mental health encounters, Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: Strategies for Effective Law Enforcement Training at the National Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Conference in Atlanta. The conference release was soon followed by a broad dissemination to the law enforcement and mental health field. The publication is the second in a series that addresses law enforcement and mental health issues: a companion to the Essential Elements of a Specialized Law Enforcement-Based Program. It provides greater depth and guidance on the element related to training policing professionals.

You can download Strategies for Effective Law Enforcement Training (PDF) for free from the Consensus Project Law Enforcement webpage.

This guide reviews common challenges to successfully developing training for officers' interactions involving people with mental illnesses and synthesizes the key lessons learned by jurisdictions that have implemented recruit or in-service programs. Written in partnership with the Police Executive Research Forum, it discusses which individuals can best serve as trainers, how they can be identified, what preparation and support they require, what teaching techniques are most effective, and how planners can design training to improve outcomes from these encounters.

"This publication provides practical advice on learning strategies that should be considered when implementing any training curriculum," said Ron Honberg, National Director for Policy and Legal Affairs at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "It underscores the need for collaborative, multidisciplinary training approaches that will resonate with law enforcement personnel."

Related Activities

The CIT Conference also featured a presentation led by Justice Center consultant Melissa Reuland, which focused on tailoring law enforcement responses to the unique needs of a jurisdiction. This information will be available in an upcoming publication, the third in this BJA-supported series. Please encourage your colleagues or grantees to subscribe to the Justice Center's Consensus Project newsletter, so they can be notified of this release.

More than 900 people registered for the Justice Center's first joint webinar with the National Council on Community Behavioral Healthcare to learn more about improving law enforcement responses to people with mental illnesses and the Essential Elements. That audio presentation and PowerPoint can now be downloaded for free from the Consensus Project Law Enforcement webpage.