An estimated 10% to 20% of police calls and responses involve mental health crises or substance abuse issues. Our boys in blue have a lot of duties, and they may need help with this one, as not everyone is equipped to handle mental health crises. Thankfully, additional training, advocacy, and services from professional law enforcement transcription companies have paved the way for agencies to help people with behavioral health conditions, allowing them to get the treatment they need instead of getting tossed into the correctional system.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Transcribed records of mental health crises can be used to improve training and create standard operation procedures for different cases.
- When partnering with a professional transcription company, look for accuracy guarantees, security profiles, additional features, transparent pricing, and excellent customer service.
- Ditto offers world-class transcription services for law enforcement and other agencies so that they can fully reap the benefits of transcribing mental health crisis calls.
What’s The Role of Police During a Mental Health Crisis?
Police officers in the US can be called upon to help with a wide range of situations, including mental health crises. One of the ways to call for help is when a friend, family member, or concerned party requests a wellness check on an individual. A wellness check is when a police officer or officer visits a person or household who meets the following criteria:
| Situation | Reason for Concern |
| Someone unresponsive to calls or messages for an unusual amount of time. | Lack of communication may indicate an emergency, accident, or other distressing situation. |
| A person with an illness or disability who has not been seen. | They may need medical assistance or be unable to seek help themselves. |
| Someone showing signs of potential self-harm or medical distress. | Immediate intervention may be necessary to prevent harm or provide medical care. |
| Someone with concerns about domestic violence or child neglect. | A vulnerable person may be in danger and require protection or assistance. |
| An elderly person living alone who has not been in contact. | Risk of falls, medical emergencies, or cognitive issues requiring urgent attention. |
| A neighbor noticing accumulating mail, uncollected packages, or unusual silence. | Possible indication of an emergency, injury, or unattended residence. |
| A child or dependent adult appearing neglected or abandoned. | They may need intervention from social services or law enforcement. |
| Someone expressing suicidal thoughts or distressing behavior online. | Could indicate a crisis requiring immediate support from mental health professionals. |
Police officers respond differently to different situations. For example, they will use appropriate health services when responding to emergencies involving potential injuries.
Of course, the needs of individuals experiencing mental health crises are different, so such calls will require the involvement of other, more equipped services. Here’s where crisis intervention teams step in.
What are Crisis Intervention Teams?
The crisis intervention team model of police response is a specialized approach to law enforcement and mental health services. Concerned law enforcement professionals, academics, mental health professionals, and substance abuse experts started the program after the fatal shooting of Joseph Dewayne Robinson in 1988.
Robinson, 27 years old, was labeled a “frequent flier”: he or someone frequently called 911 on him, and he had several hospitalizations for psychological issues. He was suffering from serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia and had a history of substance abuse. On that day, his own mother called officers for a crisis response, fearing that he was going to take his own life.
Unfortunately, the altercation that followed – the details of which are heavily debated – led to his death. The responding officers lacked the training to handle people with mental illnesses, so they treated him like any other dangerous individual.
The incident is the perfect example of behavioral health crises that police officers need to be aware of and prepare for. Thus, law enforcement developed the CIT model to equip officers with the tools, training, and resources needed to manage individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Trained officers can recognize the signs of mental illness (instead of classifying it as aggressive behavior from the start), de-escalate situations, communicate and empathize with people in crisis, and provide them with their options.
The CIT model relies on the collaboration of police officers and mental health professionals. Its main goal is to divert individuals and cases to the appropriate mental health facilities or other avenues of help instead of directly into the criminal justice system.
How Can Transcription Help With Police Response to a Mental Health Crisis
Transcription is such a flexible solution that it can be implemented to improve different aspects of law enforcement. In the context of police response to a mental health crisis, crisis intervention teams and law enforcement agencies in general can benefit from the following:
Improved 911 Call Handling & Dispatch
Transcribed 911 calls can be used to ensure responding police officers are given all the information they need to handle the situation appropriately. This is not limited to response-relevant details like name, location, and status; it extends to the person’s condition and state of mind, whenever provided, and can be used to prepare for potential risk mitigation measures.
Additionally, trainers can use transcripts of 911 calls to help dispatchers and police officers identify early signs of mental health crises so that they can alert the appropriate crisis services.
Clear Records of an Individual’s History
As shown in Joseph Dewayne Robinson’s case, mental health crisis calls are typically not isolated cases. Knowing a person has a history of mental health calls is one thing. Knowing what they called for and how they responded before is another.
Access to previously transcribed crisis reports allows officers to understand an individual’s history, giving them the tools they need to succeed in de-escalating and helping the individual in question. For example, departments can send police officers with more experience handling PTSD cases to assist someone suffering from PTSD, giving both parties the highest chance of achieving the best possible outcome.
Enhancing Crisis Intervention Team Responses and Training
Police departments can use transcribed crisis interactions to train new officers on best practices for handling mental health crises.
A department-wide database can also categorize transcripts by mental health conditions, responses, and results. The database then serves as a practical training tool to improve and tailor real-world responses, giving everyone a better chance at a positive outcome.
Legal Protection and Accountability Measures
Body-worn cam footage has seen increased use in law enforcement and has improved police-community relations through freedom of information and accountability. However, not all footage can be provided to the public. Even if given the green light, some footage is too long, and cutting it into pieces for easier distribution can remove important context in police responses to a mental health crisis.
Transcripts are a happy medium for that specific issue. Full documentation of mental health calls can be made available for anyone who needs it, improving transparency and accountability.
However, the benefits of transcripts go beyond that. It can also protect officers from false accusations while minimizing misconduct and abuse of authority.
Lastly, and unfortunately, some mental health cases go beyond the precinct. Should a case go through the criminal justice system, full transcripts of the encounter can help judges, attorneys, social workers, and other involved individuals decide whether the individual should require treatment or incarceration.
Tips on Choosing Law Enforcement Transcription Services
Certain guidelines and non-negotiable criteria can help you determine whether your chosen company fits your requirements well.
Accuracy
Reliable transcription is a cornerstone of law enforcement testimonies, and even the smallest errors can negatively affect law enforcement officers, prosecution cases, and defendants’ lives. Choose a provider with 99% guaranteed accuracy rates, and avoid service providers using intelligence transcription and speech recognition technology.
Even though they’re often inaccurate, prone to issues with background noises, and may cause more issues than they fix, transcriptions created by AI are not admissible in court. Remember that efficiency and accuracy are tell-tale signs of a reliable company.
Security
Information leaks can destroy credibility, mess with the criminal justice process, and potentially affect many lives. Look for providers like Ditto Transcriptions, who offer stringent security measures that meet CJIS guidelines to ensure confidentiality and that every piece of data is as secure as possible.
Pricing
Beware of services with unrealistically low rates. Those companies are often offshore, using foreign transcriptionists who cannot certify their transcripts, thus making them inadmissible in court. High transcription prices, on the other hand, decrease cost-effectiveness. Look for cost-effective and affordable companies that are 100% transparent with their prices.
Expertise
US-based professional transcriptionists trained in legal transcription better understand legalese, redaction rules, hearing formats, and other nuances only someone in the United States will understand.
Check credentials, sample work, testimonials, and company longevity. Law enforcement transcription can often overlap with legal or medical transcription, so it’s best to find a company that caters to all industries.
Let’s Talk About Your Police Transcription Needs
Finding the right transcription company takes time. Or, at least, it would have been if you hadn’t already been here.
Ditto offers the best law enforcement transcription services in the industry. The following guarantees cover all our services:
- More than 99% accuracy on all projects
- Fast turnaround times
- Different affordable rates for different budgets
- Flexibility and customization
- HIPAA and HITECH compliance
- No lock-in periods or contracts – pay as you go
- Multi-channel communication
- Industry-leading customer support
So what are you waiting for? Call us or sign up for our free, no-commitment trial and experience the difference.
Ditto Transcripts is a CJIS-compliant and HIPAA-compliant, Denver, Colorado-based company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcription services to companies and agencies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote, and ask about our free five-day trial. Visit our website for more information about our transcription services.