The frequency and nature of resolution of potential police provoked shooting encounters.

Helping people in acute psychiatric crisis has become an increasingly common part of modern community policing. In certain extreme cases, police may be faced with a suicidal individual who intends to intentionally provoke police to shoot them. While fatalities are fortunately rare, anecdotal reports from frontline police suggest that these kinds of encounters are occurring on a regular basis. This paper explores 2350 psychiatric crisis incidents over an eight-month period in Victoria, Australia, and assesses the frequency and nature of potential police-provoked shootings resolved through non-fatal means. Contextual factors relating to the person's behaviour and police responses, and the person's psychiatric and criminal histories were considered to elucidate characteristics common to these incidents. Results suggest that police are potentially encountering a person who is suicidal and trying to provoke police to shoot them more than twice a week. These individuals share a number of common characteristics with those who have been fatally shot in similar circumstances and are quite different from those who attempt self-inflicted suicide. Results are discussed in relation to the impact of previous criminal contact from both the suspect and police perspectives.

Do prior histories of violence and mental disorders impact on violent behaviour during encounters with police?

Despite sustained large-scale educational campaigns, public attitudes towards mental illness have remained persistently negative. Associated with this, recent research from Victoria, Australia, reported that police commonly associated violent behaviour with mental illness. The present study examined 4267 cases of police use of force and considered what differentiated and characterised violent from non-violent behaviours reported by police in the context of a use of force incident. The specific focus was to examine the effects that historical variables such as age, gender, prior violent offending and having a prior diagnosis of mental disorder, as well as incident specific factors such as exhibiting signs of mental disorder and substance intoxication have on violent behaviour during the use of force incident. The proximal factors of apparent mental disorder and alcohol intoxication were significantly associated with violent behaviour towards police, whilst having a history of prior violence and prior mental disorder diagnoses was not associated with violence. The results challenge traditional stereotyped views about the violence risk posed by people with prior contact with mental health services and those with prior violent offending histories. A service model that allows for psychiatric triage would be able to assist with streamlining police involvement and facilitating timely access to mental health services.

Estimated rates of mental disorders in, and situational characteristics of, incidents of nonfatal use of force by police.

PURPOSE: To examine the estimated rates of mental disorders and associated situational characteristics in people involved in nonfatal use of force incidents with police in VIC, Australia. METHODS: A random sample of 4,267 cases between 1995 and 2008 from a dedicated police Use of Force Register were linked with the state-wide public mental health database and a police contacts database. Rates of ICD 9 and ICD 10 mental disorders recorded on the public mental health database were examined, as well as rates of criminal offending and the characteristics of force used by both parties. RESULTS: More than a third of people on whom the police resorted to using force (n = 1,621, 38%) had a history of mental disorder. Significant overrepresentations of the estimated prevalence of psychosis [12.5%, OR = 9.03, 95% CI (7.41, 11.01), p < 0.001] and schizophrenia [9.1%, OR = 9.73, 95% CI (7.59, 12.47) p < 0.001] were found. Those diagnosed with mental disorders were 1.52 times more likely to use or threaten to use weapons on police, even after taking into account age, sex, substances intoxication and violent behaviour [95% CI (1.23, 1.91), p < 0.001]; however, they were no more likely to injure or be injured by police than those without a recorded history of mental disorder. There was a noted trend for police to use, or threaten to use, weapons on people with a history of psychosis (other than schizophrenia) [OR = 1.40, 95% CI (1.11, 1.78), p = 0.005]. CONCLUSIONS: Psychoses and schizophrenia are dramatically overrepresented in cases where police resort to using force. Situational characteristics evident in the encounters are suggestive of a sub-group of people with mental disorders presenting with aggressive and otherwise problematic behaviours coupled with histories of criminal offending; this presents significant ongoing challenges for the police.

Mental illness among police fatalities in Victoria 1982-2007: case linkage study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to explore the mental health and offending histories for all cases that resulted in fatal use of force by Victoria Police between November 1982 and February 2007. METHODS: Forty-eight fatalities were extracted from the Use of Force (UoF) Register, and then linked with the mental health and police contacts databases. These data were supplemented, where necessary, with relevant information from Coronial Reports and an Office of Police Integrity Report. RESULTS: All but six cases had involved recorded histories with mental health and criminal justice systems before the fatal incident occurred. Rates of all Axis I disorders were significantly overrepresented, with estimated rates of psychosis and schizophrenia 11.3- and 17.3-fold higher than estimated rates in the general population (95% confidence intervals = 6.3-20.2 and 9.2-32.4, respectively). Although the number of fatalities has halved since inception of Project Beacon (32 before vs 16 after 1995), there has been no reduction in representation of mental illness among those fatally shot. CONCLUSIONS: The significant over-representation of Axis I disorders, including severe mental disorders of psychosis and schizophrenia, is of considerable concern for both the police and the mental health providers. Functional interagency partnerships and police training on how to interact with people in distress are recommended to address the overrepresentation of mentally ill persons in these encounters.