Cops Amidst a Crisis: An Inside Look at Rochester, New York’s Approach to Responding to Mental Health Crises
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2024
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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eng
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Dark archive until 01/01/2029. Afterwards Haverford users only
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Abstract
Death has become too common of a result when police arrive on the scene of mental health crises, even though not all of the deaths receive national attention. Not only can these encounters result in deaths, but they may also result in an endless cycle of incarceration, and thus lack of treatment, for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis or that are likely to experience a mental health crisis. My thesis seeks to answer the question, “what role, if any, should police have in responding to mental health crises?” In attempting to answer this questions, scholars have aligned with one of three schools of thought. One school of thought, which argues that police should have a large role given that they have received mental health and de-escalation training, maintains that police officers are often the first to arrive on scene. On the other hand, some scholars contend that police should have no role in responses, and that only mental health professionals should arrive on the scene of a crisis. I align with a third school of thought, which states that police should play a complementary role when responding to mental health crises. I hypothesize that an enhanced police presence alongside other experts leads to successful outcomes during mental health crises responses. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, I look at the city of Rochester, New York. Following the death of Daniel Prude, the city of Rochester and the Rochester Police Department experienced changes in how they respond to mental health crises. My hypothesis is for the most part confirmed, in that an enhanced police presence alongside other mental health experts will lead to successful outcomes, but this is not always the case. This is to say that there is not a one-size fits all in terms of responses to mental health crises, and that there are several other factors that can determine which response is the best course of action. These findings can be generalizable for police departments and cities across the country, especially those that have experienced instances of police misconduct and ensuing political and social changes. Overall, police departments and cities should pay close attention to how they decide to implement and develop new approaches to mental health crises.