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July 3, 2026Journal of Police and Criminal PsychologyOpen Access

De Facto Mental Health Responders: A Contemporary Systematic Literature Review of Police Encounters with Persons Experiencing Mental Illness

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Authors

TATyson AlkerKHKelly HineNMNadine McKillop

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Overview

Systematic review examines police interactions with persons experiencing mental illness, indicating the need for better training and collaboration.

Key Points

  • This review aims to synthesize contemporary research on police interactions with individuals experiencing mental illness.
  • Conducted a systematic literature review of police-PMI encounters within Commonwealth countries over the past decade.
  • Searched eight databases using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in a sample of 20 peer-reviewed empirical studies.
  • Extracted data on dynamics of interactions, characteristics of involved parties, and effectiveness of response models.
  • Police-PMI interactions were primarily crisis-driven and often led to arrests with the use of force.
  • Limited mental health training and unclear operational guidance were commonly reported by police officers.
  • Findings on specialist response models like co-response and Crisis Intervention Teams showed mixed outcomes, with some reduction in the use of force but little evidence of lowered arrest or transport rates.

Cite This Study

Alker et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a4751d25c29257aa2578c19https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-026-09829-y
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1From crisis to care: Enhancing police responses to critical incidents involving persons with mental illness2025 · 3 citations
  2. 2“The Response Hasn’t Been a Human-to-Human Response, but a System-to-Human Response”: Health Care Perspectives of Police Responses to Persons with Mental Illness in Crisis2024 · 4 citations
  3. 3From Care to Coercion: Service User and Carer Experiences of Police‐Involved Mental Health Crisis Responses2026 · 1 citations
  4. 4Safeguarding Experiences of People in Mental Distress, Police and Healthcare Practitioners: An Integrative Review.2025
  5. 5Who you gonna call? Examining police reports involving people with psychosis to improve front line management2026