Police, Procedural Justice & Persons with Mental Illness

描述(申请人提供)：最近的研究表明，警方与公众接触的高达10%涉及患有严重精神疾病的人。关于消费者如何看待他们与警方的互动，以及警官策略的差异在多大程度上影响消费者与警方的合作，人们知之甚少。然而，对精神病患者参与司法系统其他部门的经历的研究提供了一个有用的出发点。这些研究发现，当个人评价一项法律互动具有高度的程序公正性时(感到他们受到了公平和尊重的对待)；他们报告说，他们感觉受到的胁迫较少，更有可能与当局合作。本研究的目的是将程序正义理论应用于精神疾病患者与警察接触的经验和结果。在第一阶段，我们将对最近与警方有过接触的精神病患者进行定性访谈。这些信息将被用来修改现有的程序正义和胁迫措施，并确定这些措施没有利用的经验层面。由此产生的措施将适用于150名与所在社区的警察有过接触的精神病患者。我们将研究感知到的程序正义如何与精神疾病患者的合作以及接触的结果，如使用武力、逮捕和转介到精神健康服务机构有关。了解精神病患者如何经历和应对程序上公正和强制的遭遇，将有助于警察进行培训和干预，以改善遭遇执法的精神病患者的结果。这反过来可能会增加执法部门有效应对精神病患者的能力，减少警察受伤，并改善公共安全。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recent studies indicate that up to 10 % of police contacts with the public involve persons with a serious mental illness. Little is known about how consumers perceive their interactions with the police and to what extent variations in officer strategies influences consumer cooperation with police authorities. However, research on the experiences of persons with mental illness involved in other parts of the justice system provides a useful point of departure. These studies have found that when individuals evaluate a legal interaction as being high in procedural justice (feel they have been treated fairly and respectfully); they report feeling less coerced and are more likely to cooperate with authorities. The purpose of this study is to apply procedural justice theory to the experiences and outcomes related to police contacts among persons with mental illness. In the first phase, we will conduct qualitative interviews with persons with mental illness that have had recent contact with the police. This information will be used to modify existing measures of procedural justice and coercion and to identify dimensions of experience not tapped by the measures. The resulting measures will be administered to 150 persons with mental illness who have had contact with the police in their community. We will examine how perceived procedural justice is related to cooperation on the part of the person with mental illness and outcomes of the contact such as use of force, arrest, and referral to mental health services. Understanding how persons with mental illness experience and respond to procedurally just and coercive encounters will inform police training and interventions aimed at improving outcomes for persons with mental illness who encounter law enforcement. This in turn may increase law enforcements' ability to effectively respond to persons with mental illness, reduce officer injuries, and improve public safety.