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A different response to the mentally ill

Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN) - 5/6/2016

May 06--WABASHA -- The driver you stop is high-strung, jabbering and seems out of control.

What should you do?

Until recently, the reaction of law enforcement officers in Wabasha County would typically be to cuff them and take them into jail, said Deputy Jason Timm.

But after training 66 officers from the county, Wabasha, Lake City and county jailers received this week, the response might be very different, Timm said. It's possible that person isn't on drugs or drunk but has a mental illness crisis.

The correct response might be to talk with the person, get him or her calmed down and maybe get them help from a mental-health specialist.

The training Monday through Wednesday was four-hour class in de-escalation during National Mental Health Awareness Month. It was put on by the HOPE Coalition out of Red Wing, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Fernbrook Family Services, which is now serving Wabasha County.

While the Wabasha officers received four hours of training, the "gold standard" is 40, said Linda Flanders, HOPE development coordinator.

The need is there, Flanders said, because one in four Americans has at least one diagnosable mental illness, and 60 percent will have some contact with law enforcement.

Timm, a 20-year veteran officers, sees the need for training have become evident.

"I have seen such a radical increase in the past five years," he said.

Maybe there's more awareness, Timm said, and maybe there are fewer places to take the mentally ill than there were 20 years ago. Whatever the reason, Timm is dealing more with people having a mental health crisis, such as depression, bipolar or schizophrenia. It might show up in domestic assault when an ill person is off medications.

Because of lack of places for proper care, there are 10 times more people with a diagnosable mental illness in jail or prison than in a hospital getting treatment, Flanders said.

The goal earlier this week was to help officers know more about mental illness, how to recognize it and how to talk down a person in crisis so they can find a way to help.

Some hints that a person is having a mental health crisis are not bathing, disheveled clothing and and slurred speech, Flanders said.

One way to help is not come in with a swagger and loud voice, ready to cuff the person, Flanders said. Instead, once you realize it's a mental illness problem, talk slower and lower, don't be aggressive.

Once you talk them down, then you can deal with whatever is bothering them, adding that "then the person is at least able to help me" work with them.

Just knowing the person is having a crisis helps officers empathize with the people, Timm said, and not just assume they need time in jail.

What officers learned, including doing role playing with trained actors, "is another tool for us that is an extremely valuable to assess each situation differently," Timm said.

Flanders pointed out that they are only trained to assess, not diagnose. The diagnosis will have to come from a person trained in mental illnesses, she said.

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