Some of the most challenging service calls law enforcement officers have to make are those involving mentally ill individuals, often requiring reliance on local mental health resources, according to a report and guide for law enforcement issued last week by the Council of State Governments' Justice Center.

The justice center released the guide last week in an effort to provide law enforcement with easy access to research on policies and practices recommended by mental health professionals for dealing with someone who is unstable.

Though police don't deal with these types of calls frequently, the report said, when they do occur they are disproportionately time-consuming and difficult.

Research for the guide, designed to help facilitate safe and effective interaction between police and those who are mentally ill, was provided by police agencies from throughout the nation, state and federal mental health agencies, and policy groups.

"All too often, individuals' inadequately treated mental illnesses are manifested in ways that can result in their contact with law enforcement -- sometimes with tragic results," the report said. In Cape Girardeau, police rely on the Community Counseling Center when it comes to dealing with mentally ill individuals in certain cases, said assistant chief Roger Fields.

State law allows police to place anyone believed to present a danger to themselves or others in protective custody for 12 hours without a charge.

If someone is exhibiting signs of mental imbalance, police can request a counselor be sent to the station to perform an evaluation.

In certain cases, a counselor may recommend seeking a 96-hour commitment to observe the individual and make sure they don't pose a further risk to themselves or to someone else.

In those cases, the counselor would need a judge's order and sometimes must obtain an affidavit from police describing their observations of the individual in question.

A majority of what police learn about how to deal with these types of incidents is covered in training, but it would be impossible for them to receive sufficient information to be well versed at handling the wide varieties of symptoms and mental conditions that they could see in the field, Fields said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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