Why should law enforcement train at CIT? What is in it for the community, and how do we get
resources that do not involve the use of police whenever possible.
The first thing everyone needs to understand about mental illness is simply that the person did
not choose the illness; in fact, the illness chose the person. If you have no idea where it comes
from, what causes it, or how to avoid it, then how can you be blamed for it?
Each of us grows up; we experience life differently from generation to generation, from person
to person. What happens in mental illness is that a person will have a mental break, for males it
is usually between the ages of 18 and 25 years of age, for Bipolar and schizophrenia.
Women, it is usually later in the late 20’s to early 30’s. This can be true for major depressive
disorders as well.
The issues for the citizens are that there are very limited resources available to the average
person. Jobs, insurance, and financial stability are elusive, yet our society is built on the
premise that we are each responsible for our own outcomes.
Law enforcement, being the primary responder to a person experiencing a mental health
crisis, is fraught with issues and challenges. Mental health providers such as MCOT and other
like entities will not respond to a violent crisis and will send calls to law enforcement dispatch
centers.
Law enforcement responds if the person is contacted by law enforcement, and there is force
used, then law enforcement is left in a situation where the people trained and responsible for
addressing the problem would not respond, and the angry family and community abuse law
enforcement because force was used.
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