mental
health
Police are often the default responders to people experiencing mental health emergencies, which can unnecessarily escalate a situation and result in violence. People with mental health conditions are no more likely than anyone else to act violently, but are far more likely to be injured or killed by police. And because of systemic inequities in health care access as well as rates of police contact, Black people are particularly at risk.
As communities expand the use of alternative mental health responses, lawmakers and police can implement policies to prevent the disproportionate harms that police contact causes to people experiencing mental health emergencies.
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How Community Safety is Grounded in Access to Mental Healthcare
Law enforcement is often the default response to a mental health crisis. This approach to crisis response, however, is leaving communities without the support systems they truly need. Communities greatly benefit when mental and behavioral health services and alternative response options are prioritized.
This Minority Mental Health Month, the Center for Policing Equity examines what it takes for every person to receive the appropriate care they need, from investments in equitable access to healthcare to expanding affordable and culturally responsive care.
data by-the-numbers
People with serious mental illness are 12 times more likely to experience use of force by police than other people.
7% - 10%
Of All Police Encounters Involve a Person Who Has Mental Illness
Of People in State and Federal Prisons have a Mental Illness
Of People in Local Jails have a Mental Illness
Of People Killed by the Police in the U.S since 2015 had a known Mental Illness
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Substantial and effective change in our collective approach to public safety can only be driven by community voice.
