Law enforcement encounters with mentally ill people sometimes go horribly wrong. The problems here begin long before the police ever show up.
Making the law enforcement-mental health connection
Tag: law enforcement
Mental health crisis teams work — does your city have one?
With perennial cuts to mental health services, police are the first line of response in many communities when mental health crises arise. That needs to change.
A new and creative form of asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture is extremely abusive and unfair, but it’s in widespread use across the US. In Oklahoma, law enforcement agencies have come up with an extremely creative approach to the tactic.
In fundraisers for killer cops, cui bono?
The last year has been one of almost constant reports of police shootings in the United States, most involving young Black men. Most fatal. Many people in the US are finally willing to admit that the nation’s race relations are in a horrific state, Black president or no, and that politically speaking, the country is […]
Fear Should Not Govern Law Enforcement Officers
Last year marked a growing and concerning trend among US law enforcement officers: That of ‘frightened’ police officers shooting unarmed Black civilians. While police-on-civilian violence has been a problem for as long as we’ve had police, and it has been a particular issue for people of colour, several notable cases last year sparked widespread protests, […]
Why Do We Glorify Bad Cops in Pop Culture?
I keep coming back to this theme of late because it’s bothering me more and more: why do we glorify bad cops in pop culture? What is it specifically about corrupt, brutal, power-hungry police officers that we find so narratively compelling, that makes us want to tell the same stories again and again? So many […]
Police Aren’t Mental Health Experts
Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are being called upon to act as mental health first responders, in a trend that’s harming mentally ill people and doing an injustice to law enforcement, as well. Police officers are not mental health experts, mental health crisis intervention is not within the scope of their job description […]
Pop Culture’s Obsession With the Justice System
At any given time, a score of crime dramas are airing on television; from forensic science shows taking viewers inside the lab to traditional cop shows where ‘good guys’ chase ‘bad guys’ and solve crimes. The bestseller list routinely features crime thrillers, mysteries, and entries in related genres where, again, the focus is usually on […]