Posted: Thursday, January 22, 2015

This Op-Ed was originally published in the Providence Journal Jan. 22, 2015.  It is signed by Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr., chief of the Providence Police Department, and Col. Stephen M. McCartney, chief of the Warwick Police Department.

The Providence Journal’s continuing series on the state of mental health care in Rhode Island is bringing much-deserved attention to the fact that too many people who suffer from mental illness become needlessly trapped within the criminal justice system. In effect, people are criminalized because of a mental health condition and families are forever changed.

We would not send a police officer to arrest someone suffering a heart attack nor would we detain someone who is having an asthma attack. The same should hold true for those suffering from mental illness. But because of stigma, poor understanding, and the general inexperience of most members of the public with mental illness, this sadly is not the case. Many people have a hard time distinguishing between behaviors driven by mental illness and genuine unlawful activity.

As career front-line law enforcement officers, we know firsthand the right response is often treatment and not incarceration. In too many cases, incarceration is the first option as opposed to the last resort. But thanks to the partnership our departments have built with The Providence Center (TPC), an agency that provides mental health care, we are changing this situation. Each department has, as a daily resource to our officers, a trained mental health clinician ready to respond side-by-side with our officers.

That means when we are called to a situation where we know, or information suggests, that an individual’s mental health will be a deciding factor in the outcome of the call, we have the proper professional expertise on hand to respond appropriately. This is simply a matter of making sure you have the right tool for the job. This is nothing different from what public safety has done for years —adapting to the ever-changing environment we are sworn to protect.

Unfortunately, when it comes to mental illness, too many police departments lack the capacity to respond correctly.

When a trained mental health clinician is on scene, working hand-in-glove with law enforcement, there is a higher likelihood of deescalating a crisis situation and averting negative — including catastrophic — outcomes for all. A clinician can ensure a person with mental illness is effectively assessed and engaged and, when appropriate, is connected to support services and provided a treatment plan, and most importantly, is diverted from inappropriate, costly, and counter-productive incarceration.

Without that training, without that perspective on the scene, the standard operating procedures of law enforcement could easily make matters worse. When that happens, public safety is compromised, confidence in law enforcement erodes, and family members may be reluctant to call for help out of concern that a family member will be incarcerated as opposed to receiving the proper medical treatment.

When a trained clinician is on scene, officers can focus on those priorities they are best suited to address — ensuring public safety, securing a crime scene, diverting and removing onlookers, gathering facts, and preserving the peace. The trained clinician can focus on counseling and supporting family members, victims, witnesses, and bystanders which reduces the long-term negative repercussions of an event and can prevent future calls for help.

We are both very grateful to The Providence Center for providing dedicated and highly skilled mental health clinicians to help us better serve those suffering with mental illness. We encourage all police departments throughout Rhode Island to partner with a mental health agency to provide this much needed service to a very deserving population.

- Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr., Warwick Police Chief Col. Stephen M. McCartney.