The “Gray Zone” of Police Work During Mental Health Encounters

• Author: Jennifer D. Wood,Anjali J. Fulambarker,Amy C. Watson
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1098611116658875
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

The “Gray Zone”of

Police Work During

Mental Health

Encounters: Findings

From an Observational

Study in Chicago

Jennifer D. Wood

1

, Amy C. Watson

2

,

and Anjali J. Fulambarker

3

Abstract

Although improving police responses to mental health crises has received significant

policy attention,most encounters between police and persons with mental illnesses do

not involve major crimes or violence nor do they rise to the level of emergency

apprehension. Here, we report on field observations of police officers handling

mental health-related encounters in Chicago. Findings confirm these encounters

often occur in the “gray zone,”where the problems at hand do not call for formal

or legalistic interventions. In examining how police resolved such situations, we

observed three core features of police work: (a) accepting temporary solutions to

chronic vulnerability, (b) using local knowledge to guide decision making, and (c)

negotiating peace with complainants and call subjects. Findings imply the need to

advance field-based studies using systematic social observations of gray zone decision

making within and across distinct geographic and place-based contexts. Policy implica-

tions for supporting police interventions are also discussed.

Keywords

police, mental health encounters, crisis intervention, peacekeeping

1

Department of Criminal Justice, Center for Security and Crime Science, Temple University, PA, USA

2

Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA

3

School of Social Work, Simmons College, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Amy C. Watson, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1040W

Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607, USA.

Email: acwatson@gmail.com

Police Quarterly

2017, Vol. 20(1) 81–105

!The Author(s) 2016

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DOI: 10.1177/1098611116658875

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Introduction

Although police performance is traditionally assessed in terms of clearance rates

and crime reduction, patrol officers have long functioned as “incidental”

1

mental

health interventionists (Matthews & Rowland, 1954). Over 90% of officers on

patrol have an average of six encounters with individuals in crisis each month

(Cordner, 2006), and 7% to 10% of all police encounters involve people affected

by mental illness (Borum, Deane, Steadman, & Morrissey, 1998; Franz &

Borum, 2011; Hails & Borum, 2003; Watson et al., 2010). For vulnerable citizens

who may not otherwise seek or be able to access help, the police operate as a last

resort “intercept” (Munetz & Griffin, 2006), making critical decisions about how

to resolve encounters and whether to initiate formal interventions by criminal

justice, behavioral health, or social services.

Police decisions of how best to intervene are complex because mental illness is

often accompanied by substance us e, physical health vulnerabilities , and home-

lessness (Draine, Salzer, Culhane, & Hadley, 2002). Co-occurring substance use

disorders are highly prevalent among criminal justice system involved persons

with mental illnesses (Slate, Buffington-Vollum, & Johnson, 2013), with figures

as high as 75% for jail populations (Abram & Teplin, 1991; National GAINS

Center, 2002). Experiences of homelessness are also common for justice-involved

persons living with mental illnesses or comorbid disorders (DiPietro &

Klingenmaier, 2013; James & Glaze, 2006; Markowitz, 2006; National Health

Care for the Homeless Council, 2013; Slate et al., 2013). With deinstitutionaliza-

tion from state psychiatric hospitals all but complete (Slate et al.,2013), the health

intervention role of police is both salient and controversial, especially given a

series of high-profile tragedies involving fatal shootings by officers (Goodman,

2015; Reuters, 2015; Santos & Goode, 2014; The Associated Press, 2015).

In addition to concerns about the misuse of force in the handling of mental

health-related encounters, much of the literature has focused on the “criminal-

ization” of those whose needs would be better served by behavioral health and

social services (Slate et al., 2013; Teplin, 1983, 1984). In efforts to reduce crim-

inalization—and the rates of arrest leading to this—both researchers and prac-

titioners have advocated for interventions using specially trained personnel with

knowledge on how to recognize mental illness, de-escalate potentially volatile

encounters, and make the best possible use of health referrals or transports to

resolve situations. The most popular intervention models are the Crisis

Intervention Team (CIT) model, which includes police officers with specialized

mental health training (Hartford, Carey, & Mendonca, 2006; Schaefer Morabito

& Socia, 2015; Steadman, Deane, Borum, & Morrissey, 2000; Watson,

Morabito, Draine, & Ottati, 2008; Watson et al., 2010) and coresponse arrange-

ments (Hails & Borum, 2003; Victoria Auditor-General, 2009; Wilson-Bates,

2008) where health professionals such as psychiatric nurses or social workers

assist police through telephone consultations or by responding at the scene (for a

review, see Wood, Swanson, Burris, & Gilbert, 2011). Overall, such efforts to

82 Police Quarterly 20(1)