Grant will fund study of police crisis intervention teams

Newswise.com

CHICAGO — A $3.1 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to researchers in the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work will fund a study of the effectiveness of a police-based diversion approach that uses crisis intervention teams, or CIT.

“There is emerging evidence that CIT improves police response to persons with mental illnesses,” says Amy Watson, associate professor of social work. ”This study will allow us to more rigorously test CIT effectiveness and examine factors that support improved longer-term mental health and criminal justice outcomes for persons with serious mental illnesses in the community.”

Results from a prior NIMH-funded study in four Chicago police districts suggested that CIT-trained officers were more successful at directing individuals with mental illness to services than were their non-trained peers, and they were less likely to use force with resistant subjects.

Full Story: Grant to Fund Study of Police Crisis-Intervention Teams