Callers & Mental Illness

"Studies show that those with a diagnosed mental illness don't commit any more crime than the rest of the population, yet they are 17% more likely to be the victims of crime."

In recent years calls with individuals who have mental illness have been covered in the media more and more and awareness of mental illness has increased as well. It's important that we as dispatchers are well trained to handle these types of calls, especially with the increased scrutiny. This course provides information regarding multiple mental illnesses and additional steps dispatchers can take and questions to ask to help better prepare officers for the call.

After this training you will be able to:

1. Better recognize common mental illnesses and their symptoms.
2. Ask pertinent questions to better assist callers reporting a party with mental illness.
3. Understand the perspective of a caller who is suffering from or with someone suffering from mental illness.
4. Utilize verbal de-escalation techniques to help callers experiencing mental health crises.
5. Recognize approaches that will allow the caller to be more cooperative and build trust with you as the dispatcher.
6. Provide officers pertinent information to be able to best determine how they handle the call.