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Report advocates improved police training

Date:
August 29, 2014
Source:
Queen's University
Summary:
A new report identifies ways to improve the mental health training and education that police personnel receive. "The most important part of the report and what comes after is making sure people living with mental illness are involved in the delivery of training," says one expert.
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A new report released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada identifies ways to improve the mental health training and education that police personnel receive.

"People with mental illnesses is a prominent issue for Canada's police community, and today's report builds on the increasingly collaborative relationship between law enforcement and people with mental illnesses," says Queen's adjunct professor Dorothy Cotton, a forensic psychologist with an interest in the area of police psychology. "This is a gap-analysis tool that police academy and police services can use to improve their education and training."

TEMPO: Police Interactions -- A report towards improving interactions between police and people living with mental health problems includes several key recommendations:

  • That police learning be designed and delivered by a combination of police personnel, adult educators, mental health professionals, mental health advocacy organizations and people living with mental illness.
  • More uniform inclusion of non-physical interventions (verbal communications, interpersonal skills, de-escalation, defusing and calming techniques) in use-of-force training.
  • The incorporation of anti-stigma education to challenge the attitudinal barriers that lead to discriminatory action.
  • That provincial governments establish policing standards that include provision for mandatory basic and periodic police training qualification/requalification for interactions with people with mental illness.
  • Provision of training on the role of police, mental health professionals, family and community supports in encounters with persons with mental illness.
  • That training provides a better understanding of the symptoms of mental illness and the ability to assess the influence a mental illness might be having on a person's behaviour and comprehension.

"The most important part of the report and what comes after is making sure people living with mental illness are involved in the delivery of training," says Dr. Cotton, who earned a Diamond Jubilee Medal recognizing her work in relation to interactions between police and people with mental illness.

The TEMPO report is the result of a comprehensive survey of Canadian police organizations; a literature review; an international comparative review of police learning programs; and direct interviews with a variety of police and mental health professionals.

Read the full TEMPO report here: http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/document/36596/tempo-police-interactions-report-towards-improving-interactions-between-police-and-pe


Story Source:

Materials provided by Queen's University. Original written by Anne Craig. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

Queen's University. "Report advocates improved police training." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 August 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140829175432.htm>.
Queen's University. (2014, August 29). Report advocates improved police training. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140829175432.htm
Queen's University. "Report advocates improved police training." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140829175432.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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