According
to a Governing.com article, 10% of 911 calls involve mental health situations
that most police aren’t prepared to handle.
Many of these situations occur because of undiagnosed conditions that are
unknown to the police.
While
around 3% of adults suffer from severe mental illness, they make up from 25% to
50% of all fatal law enforcement encounters.
Mental
health advocates say that comprehensive solutions are needed, such as emergency
personnel working with hospitals to follow up with patients to make sure they
are taking their prescribed medication.
Connecticut
law requires police training programs to include a course on handling incidents
involving people affected with a serious mental illness (CGS § 7-294r).
