Deflecting people experiencing a mental health crisis from the criminal-legal system at dispatch: Findings from calls-for-service reports and statewide survey data.
Evaluation and Program Planning · 2025-11-01 · Observational study
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: People with mental health needs are overrepresented in the criminal-legal system in the United States. While mental health deflection and diversion from the criminal-legal system exists, limited investigations have focused on what happens to support these efforts at emergency communication centers. METHODS: In order to understand the possibilities for deflection at emergency communication centers, this exploratory study examined the barriers to dispatching alternative and non-law enforcement responses to mental health calls as well as the concurrence between how 911 professionals coded calls-for-service that law enforcement officers deemed to be mental health-related. Data comes from an online survey administered to two statewide 911 professional associations to assess day-to-day practices for responding to mental health calls as well as two-years of law enforcement mental health calls-for-service reports from a midwestern county. RESULTS: Regarding the use of alternative mental health responses, 911 professionals reported several concerns such as: the safety of citizens and first responders; personal, organizational, and system-level liabilities; and obligations to fulfilling caller expectations and duties as 911 professionals. Of mental health crises responded to by law enforcement officers, 911 professionals coded just over half as mental health-related. Mental health call codes were more likely to diverge between 911 professionals and law enforcement officers in communities with higher poverty rates. DISCUSSION: Results suggest it is possible for 911 professionals to identify mental health calls but there are significant implementation barriers to connecting people to non-law enforcement responses via emergency communication centers.
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Tags
Dispatchers & call takers · Equity & disparities · Implementation · Interagency collaboration · Fire service & police
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