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Cited by 35Healthcare Decision-Making and RestraintsPolicing Practices and PerceptionsPsychiatric care and mental health services

Experiences and Perceptions of Police Officers Concerning Their Interactions With People With Serious Mental Disorders for Compulsory Treatment

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Soares, Ruben, Pinto da Costa, Mariana·2019·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00187PMC PMC6482210
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Abstract

Background: In Portuguese law, police officers are the link between security and the treatment of people with serious mental disorders who require compulsory admission. The perceptions of police officers are in part based on their individual characteristics, and may influence their capability in managing patients they are transporting. However, little is known about police officers experience of this process. Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews explored the experiences and perceptions of police officers from Porto Police Department in Portugal. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed through thematic analysis. Results: Ten police officers agreed to take part in this study. The interviewed police officers consisted of nine men and one woman, had an average length service of 22.6 years and all had more than 10 years of service. The interviews highlighted that the activity of the police under the Mental Health Law is shaped by whether the person who they are transporting has a mental health disorder and requires psychiatric admission. The police officers reportedly adjusted their behaviour to give patients more attention, comfort and empathy. However, they describe these interactions as one of the most time consuming and challenging activities for the police. Importantly, they acknowledged family members as crucial for police officers to be able to gain direct access to patients and knowledge about them. Police officers showed to perceive people with mental illness as unpredictable, dangerous and without discernment, and identified some aspects of the process that could be improved, such as hospital admission waiting times. Police officers felt they required more skilled support to deal with unwell patients. Conclusions: This study highlights the perceptions and experiences of police officers about the process of compulsory admission, and identifies areas of unmet needs. These findings help to raise awareness of their needs, improving this process, and ensuring a more humane and effective approach.

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  • Police officers, in many cases, are the first to come in contact with people suffering from mental illness, leaving them with the discretionary task of making arrests or escorting these people for a mental health assessment or treatment.

    “It is also important to remember that police officers, in many cases, are the first to come in contact with people suffering from mental illness, leaving police officers with the discretionary task of making arrests or escorting these people for a mental health assessment or treatment (Soares and Pinto da Costa, 2019).”

    From Psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with burnout in police officers: A systematic review (2023) · cites this paper as Soares and Pinto da Costa, 2019

    The Introduction (page not specified) says police officers are among the first professionals to interact with people requiring compulsory admission. The Results, under “Police Activity and Compulsory Admission” (page not specified), describe transporting people for medical evaluation, but distinguish this from criminal detention; they do not describe a discretionary choice between arrest and escort for assessment or treatment. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Soares, R., & Pinto da Costa, M.
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2019-04-18
Volume
10
Pages
187-187
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00187
PMC
PMC6482210
OpenAlex
W2936814013
Cited by
35
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2018: 1
FWCI
4.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Universidade do Porto
  • Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
Keywords
police officers, compulsory psychiatric admission, severe mental illness, police perceptions, mental health law

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