CRIT CORE CONCEPTS:
ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR TRAINERS
About
CRIT Core Concepts: Essential Tools for Trainers is a resource library that provides recommended resources to support the planning and delivery of the Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT), including general resources on police-mental health collaboration and crisis response and module-specific resources. These resources are provided to support local trainers in the preparation and delivery of CRIT content.
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Recommended Resources
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Police-Mental Health Collaboration (PMHC) Toolkit
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The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Police Mental Health Collaboration (PMHC) Toolkit provides resources for law enforcement agencies to partner with mental health providers to effectively respond to calls for service, improve outcomes for people with mental health conditions and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and advance the safety of all.
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Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration (JMHCP) Program
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The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) supports innovative cross-system collaboration for individuals with mental health conditions or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who come into contact with the justice system.
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Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Sites
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The Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Site Program serves as a peer-to-peer learning program for law enforcement agencies seeking to build collaborative responses to people who have mental health needs.
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This is the first comprehensive guide for communities on best practices for starting and sustaining CIT programs. It includes seven chapters that guide local mental health advocates, mental health professionals, law enforcement and community leaders through the process of starting and sustaining their CIT programs.
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International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) One Mind Campaign
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The One Mind Campaign seeks to ensure successful interactions between law enforcement and individuals with mental health conditions. The initiative focuses on uniting local communities, public safety organizations, and mental health organizations so that the three become "of one mind." Here is an overview of the One Mind Campaign.
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The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability® (NCCJD®)
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The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability® (NCCJD®) serves as a bridge between the criminal justice and disability communities. NCCJD pursues and promotes safety, fairness, and justice for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), especially those with hidden disabilities and marginalized identities, as victims, witnesses, suspects, defendants, and incarcerated persons.
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The Arc’s NCCJD Pathways to Justice®
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Pathways to Justice is a comprehensive, community-based program that creates and builds relationships between the criminal justice and disability communities. Here is a digital brochure on the Pathways to Justice program.
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The Arc’s NCCJD Disability Response Teams
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Based on the evidence-based multi-disciplinary team (or MDT) model, Disability Response Teams (DRTs) bring professionals from both disability and criminal justice together to share expertise and provide training using a team approach, with the goal of becoming the go-to resource in their community or state on issues related to criminal justice and disability.
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The GAINS Center focuses on expanding access to services for people with mental and/or substance use disorders who come into contact with the adult criminal justice system.
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SAMHSA’s GAINS Center – Trauma-Informed Response Training
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The GAINS Center has developed training for criminal justice professionals to raise awareness about trauma and its effects. “How Being Trauma-Informed Improves Criminal Justice System Responses” is a half-day training for criminal justice professionals to: increase understanding and awareness of the impact of trauma, develop trauma-informed responses, and provide strategies for developing and implementing trauma-informed policies.
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Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
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The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that combines the power of a membership association, representing state officials in all three branches of government, with policy and research expertise to develop strategies that increase public safety and strengthen communities.
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National League of Cities – Addressing Mental Health, Substance Use and Homelessness
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The broad goal of this project is to provide a resource to help city leaders implement effective strategies for emergency response and crisis stabilization for individuals experiencing mental illness, substance use disorder and/or homelessness.
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This summary of the published research to date provides an overview of nine types of police-based and related emergency response models that have received some research attention, as well as the methodological approaches used to evaluate them and their results.
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The Sequential Intercept Model (SIM)
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This webpage provides information about the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM), which is a conceptual model to inform community-based responses to the involvement of people with mental and substance use disorders in the criminal justice system.
Module-Specific Resources
Module 1. Welcome & Introduction to CRIT
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This chapter provides a review of the available research examining the implementation and impact of crisis intervention team (CIT) programs across communities. It provides information on the implementation of the CIT model, the impact of CIT training and programs, stakeholder perceptions of CIT, and implications for implementation.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides information on CIT training that can be referenced in discussions on the CIT model.
Created by: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
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A police-mental health collaboration (PMHC) program is a law enforcement-based program that enables officers to respond appropriately and safely to people with mental health conditions. This webpage outlines the ten essential elements of effective PMHC programs and provides considerations for program planning and implementation.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides additional content to support the discussion on PMHC programs.
Created by: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
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This publication is intended to help jurisdictions advance comprehensive, agency-wide responses to people with mental health conditions. The framework is organized around six main questions that law enforcement executives should consider to be successful in implementing or improving police-mental health collaborations (PMHCs) in their jurisdiction.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides supplemental content on PMHC program planning and implementation and can be used as a resource for a discussion on PMHCs.
Created by: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
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This publication is meant to help communities identify the gaps and opportunities in their existing system that will enhance their efforts to divert people with mental illness from justice system involvement.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource provides information on supports and services that help people with mental illness maintain their wellness.
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This multi-page guide provides insights into the developmental disability community, offers suggestions for successful interactions with people with developmental disabilities, and outlines options for safe and effective deflection and pre-arrest diversion when people with developmental disabilities encounter law enforcement and may be experiencing a crisis or are otherwise in need of services.
Tip for Trainers: This guide can be provided to training participants and includes additional content on the core values of the disability community and recommended responses, sample accommodations, and where to find developmental disability services and supports.
Module 2. Perceptions and Attitudes on Behavioral Health and Disabilities
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This style guide contains guidelines for content related to criminal justice and behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disabilities, including concepts, terminology, and definitions.
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Tip for Trainers: The style guide provides additional information about preferred terminology and can be used to support a discussion on respectful language.
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses based on SAMHSA's (2012) Working Definition of Recovery
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This one-page resource provides the 10 guiding principles for recovery from mental illness and substance use disorders from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2012).
Tip for Trainers: This document can be provided to participants in their Participant Guide to reinforce the principles of recovery.
Created by: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
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This brochure provides a working definition and 10 guiding principles for recovery from mental illness and substance use disorders.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource provides additional information on the principles of recovery and can serve as a reference for a discussion on recovery.
Module 3. Prioritizing Officer Mental Health, Wellness, & Resilience
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This resilience resource outlines empirically validated skills to help officers overcome adversity and challenges, manage stress, maintain peak performance, and thrive in their personal and professional life.
Tip for Trainers: This resource can be customized to include agency-specific safety and wellness resources and can be provided to participants to reinforce skills to promote resiliency.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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To assist officers and their families, the IACP has developed a comprehensive Employee and Family Wellness Guide encompassing wellness resources on a variety of topics: healthy sleep habits, nutritional needs, financial wellness, helping young children understand the job, injury reduction, and suicide prevention and mental health.
Tip for Trainers: This resource can be customized to include specific local and department safety and wellness resources and can be provided to training participants.
Created by: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
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The Officer Robert Wilson III Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement Officers and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Initiative is an effort to improve the immediate and long-term safety, wellness, and resilience of our nation’s law enforcement officers. Through a multifaceted approach that includes delivering no-cost training (professional education), conducting research, developing and providing resources, and establishing partnerships that benefit law enforcement officers, the VALOR Initiative seeks to provide our law enforcement with innovative, useful, and valuable resources and skills.
Tip for Trainers: The VALOR Initiative website includes information and resources on various topics on officer safety and wellness that can be used to support discussions on officer wellness.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This webpage provides a collection of IACP resources that support the safety, health, and wellness of every officer, and agencies can use these resources when developing comprehensive officer safety and wellness strategies. Resources include content on building resilience, injury prevention, peer support programs, physical fitness, proper nutrition, stress, mindfulness, suicide prevention, and more.
Tip for Trainers: This webpage provides resources that can be used to support discussions on officer wellness.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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The National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide Toolkit is designed to support agencies and departments to address officer mental health and wellness concerns. This suicide prevention toolkit has all the information that agencies need to develop and implement a customized agency approach to prevent officer suicide and strengthen officer mental health.
Tip for Trainers: The toolkit outlines strategies to implement and sustain suicide prevention in policing organizations. It provides strategies to normalize and increase help-seeking behavior and to strengthen supports and connections that can be integrated into discussions on promoting officer wellness and suicide prevention.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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Work-life balance focuses on managing time and energy while on- and off-duty. Having a healthy work-life balance ensures that officers perform effectively, reduce stress, avoid burnout, and enjoy their career.
Tip for Trainers: This poster provides recommendations for officers on how to support a healthy work-life balance and can support a discussion on managing stress.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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Individuals responsible for responding to, and addressing, the needs of crime victims in various professional capacities are impacted by both single incident and chronic trauma exposure. Through interdisciplinary and cross-agency community collaborations, the Vicarious Trauma Response Initiative (VTRI) seeks to ensure that all such providers and organizations understand the impact of vicarious trauma and benefit from workplaces and communities of practice that promote their health, wellbeing, and their resilience.
Tip for Trainers: The VTRI webpage provides resources and training opportunities that can be used to support discussions on vicarious trauma.
Module 4. Understanding Mental Health Conditions & Mental Illnesses
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This brief provides an overview of adolescent brain development and its effects on law enforcement interactions with youth. It includes strategies for law enforcement to apply this knowledge during youth interactions, outlining important considerations for integrating this information into everyday practices, procedures, and programs.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource provides information on adolescent development that can inform discussions on mental health conditions in youth.
Created by: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
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This brief addresses misconceptions about mental health and violence, presents important information about risk factors for violence, and offers ways that criminal justice professionals can help mitigate such risks.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides content to support a discussion on mental illness and violence.
Created by: NYC Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health in partnership with the Center for Practice Innovations at Columbia Psychiatry
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This brief animated video (6 minutes, 41 seconds) provides information on psychosis, including what it is, common signs and symptoms, and recommendations for what to do if someone is experiencing psychosis.
Tip for Trainers: This video can be shown to training participants when discussing psychotic disorders.
Module 6. Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Created by: SAMHSA’s Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative
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This manual introduces the concept of trauma and offers a framework for becoming a trauma-informed organization, system, or service sector. The manual provides a definition of trauma and a trauma-informed approach, and offers 6 key principles and 10 implementation domains.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides additional content to support a discussion on what is trauma and how agencies can implement a trauma-informed approach.
Created by: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and Policy Research Associates (PRA)
This brief explores how criminal justice professionals can take a trauma-informed approach to their work at each point of contact in the justice system. By employing this approach, they can help to reduce recidivism and incidents of violence while also improving service engagement and recovery.
Tip for Trainers: This brief contains information and examples that can be incorporated into discussions on trauma-informed approaches.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Yale Child Study Center
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This Toolkit provides practical tools and resources to assist law enforcement agencies in building or enhancing effective operational responses to children exposed to violence (with or without a mental health partner). This toolkit contains tools targeted to police leaders and frontline officers. Resources that are a part of the toolkit provide knowledge and practices that officers can incorporate into their practices and approaches in the field.
Tip for Trainers: This toolkit provides additional information that can be incorporated into discussions on trauma in youth.
Module 7. Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This two-page resource describes mental health conditions and developmental disabilities, common behaviors and characteristics, and the differences between mental health conditions and developmental disabilities.
Tip for Trainers: This resource includes additional information that can inform a discussion on the differences and similarities between the two conditions.
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This two-page resource provides examples of law enforcement encounters with people with developmental disabilities, discusses how understanding more about disabilities leads to safe and effective interactions, and provides examples of possible behaviors of people with developmental disabilities and recommended responses.
Tip for Trainers: This resource can be given to training participants to provide recommended responses to possible behaviors of people with developmental disabilities.
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This multi-page guide provides insights into the developmental disability community, offers suggestions for successful interactions with people with developmental disabilities, and outlines options for safe and effective deflection and pre-arrest diversion when people with developmental disabilities encounter law enforcement and may be experiencing a crisis or are otherwise in need of services.
Tip for Trainers: This guide can be provided to training participants and includes additional content on the core values of the disability community and recommended responses, sample accommodations, and where to find developmental disability services and supports.
Created by: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
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This brief offers important steps that criminal justice administrators can take to better identify and respond to the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This resource also includes IDD screening tools.
Tip for Trainers: This resource includes potential questions officers can ask to help identify a person with IDD that can be incorporated into a discussion on tips for identification, along with other recommendations to enhance interactions with people with IDD.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This fact sheet provides profession-specific knowledge and tips to better assist law enforcement officers when interacting with the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) community.
Tip for Trainers: This resource can be provided to training participants to provide an overview of key information related to interacting with people with IDD.
Created by: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This resource provides information on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and possible behaviors of a person with IDD and sample law enforcement responses.
Tip for Trainers: Trainers can use the sample responses to possible behaviors in their discussion on tips for responding.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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Only 4 minutes long, this video is a conversation starter to use with local police departments, victim advocacy agencies, prosecutors’ and public defenders’ offices, and others to introduce the topic and explain why effective, ongoing training is needed. The Pathways to Justice: Video Conversation Guide offers questions to start a conversation.
Tip for Trainers: This video can be shown to training participants at the beginning of the module to highlight the importance of training on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and the video conversation guide can be used to engage with participants on the topic.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This fact sheet provides an overview of intellectual disability, intellectual disability and the criminal justice system, and identification and communication tips for justice professionals.
Tip for Trainers: This two-page resource can be provided to training participants and has identification tips specific to individuals who are victims or suspected of a crime.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This fact sheet provides an overview of autism, autism and the criminal justice system, and identification and communication tips for justice professionals.
Tip for Trainers: This two-page resource can be provided to training participants as an overview of autism and includes communication tips and an individual story that can be incorporated into the presentation of content on autism.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This fact sheet provides an overview of FASD, FASD and the criminal justice system, and identification and communication tips for justice professionals.
Tip for Trainers: This two-page resource can be provided to training participants and has additional information on identification and communication tips to include in discussions on FASD.
Created by: The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability (NCCJD)
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This paper examines the unique situation facing youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who become justice-involved and explores potential solutions.
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Tip for Trainers: This information can be useful to trainers wanting specific information related to identification, outreach, and providing accommodations to youth with IDD involved in the criminal justice system and strategies on decreasing their risk of involvement.
Created by: Vera Institute of Justice
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The Supporting Crime Victims with Disabilities toolkit was designed to provide comprehensive and culturally responsive informational and educational resources, tools, videos, and examples of best practices for law enforcement, forensic interviewers, victim advocates, and others to prepare them to effectively respond to victims of crime with disabilities across the lifespan.
Tip for Trainers: This toolkit provides additional information on disabilities and victimization. Information for first responders and attorneys can be found in the section: Crime Scene to Courtroom: Information for First Responders and Legal Professionals. This section contains information about how first responders and legal professionals can effectively work with victims with disabilities.
Created by: The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center
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This brief highlights four overarching themes that emerged from technical assistance provided to four Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Programs and gives an overview of each grantee’s program, including the work they have done with the help of this technical assistance.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides ideas for how law enforcement and other justice professionals can better serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and provides an overview of key challenges this population often faces. One example provided is Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office (Texas) and their goal to explore data collection strategies, best practices for identifying IDD and ways to improve responses to people with IDD from point of entry throughout the criminal justice system.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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The Kevin and Avonte Program: Reducing Injury and Death of Missing Individuals with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities supports local jurisdictions’ efforts to reduce the number of deaths and injuries of individuals with forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease or developmental disabilities such as autism who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments.
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Tip for Trainers: The Home Safe website includes a library of resources related to reducing injury and death of individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities that can be referenced in discussions on neurocognitive disorders.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This resource provides considerations for balancing an individual’s autonomy with their safety, discusses alternatives that can be used in place of or in addition to locative technology, and outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of using locative technology.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource can be referenced in discussions on locative technology.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
This webinar includes law enforcement, family members, and disability advocates discussing their personal and professional experiences about strategies to address wandering by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as the use of locative technology as a last resort.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource can be referenced in discussions on locative technology.
Module 8. Family & Peer Perspectives Panel
Created by: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
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This guide will help CIT coordinators prepare to include a lived experience presentation in CIT training and how to support the guest speaker, including steps to take before, during and after the presentation.
Tip for Trainers: This guide provides guidance on how to find someone with lived experience and how to engage with and support the presenters. It also includes a checklist for coordinators to help with panel preparation and mindfulness and relaxation exercises to support presenters.
Module 9. Suicide
Created by: Suicide Prevention Resource Center
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This paper provides a brief overview of the importance of risk and protective factors as they
relate to suicide and offers guidance about how communities can best use them to decrease suicide risk.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides additional content on risk and protective factors for suicide and the differences between risk factors and warning signs that can be incorporated into discussions on suicide prevention.
Module 10. Neurocognitive Disorders
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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IACP's Alzheimer’s Initiatives is committed to helping first responders improve their knowledge and skills to enhance their response to community members living with Alzheimer's Disease.
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Tip for Trainers: This webpage provides various resources, links to roll-call training videos, and webinars that can be incorporated into the presentation of content on Alzheimer’s Disease.
Pocket Card: 10 Signs & Steps: This pocket card provides basic warning signs that a driver may have Alzheimer’s and steps to respond.
Postcard: Alzheimer's – Senior Drivers: This pocket card provides easy reference tips to identifying and interacting with individuals with Alzheimer’s.
Postcard: Alzheimer's – Do's and Don'ts: This pocket card provides helpful do’s and don’ts for interacting with individuals with Alzheimer’s.
Missing Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease: IACP Model Policy: These documents provide guidance for the response and investigation of missing persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/D).
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This webpage provides various resources on crimes against older adults, including roll call training videos and the Senior Abuse Financial Tracking and Accounting Tool (SAFTA), which provides law enforcement with a simplified method for investigating suspicious financial patterns and prosecuting cases of suspected financial exploitation of older adults.
Tip for Trainers: This webpage provides various resources and links to roll call training videos that can be incorporated into the presentation of content on elder abuse.
The Roll Call Training Videos are recounts of actual cases from around the United States and highlight the actions of responding officers that led to a resolution of the case. The Roll Call Training Videos include the topics of False Imprisonment, Financial Abuse by a Stranger, Financial Exploitation by a Family Member, Physical Abuse, Neglect, and Understanding Elder Abuse.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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The Kevin and Avonte Program: Reducing Injury and Death of Missing Individuals with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities supports local jurisdictions’ efforts to reduce the number of deaths and injuries of individuals with forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease or developmental disabilities such as autism who, due to their condition, wander from safe environments.
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Tip for Trainers: The Home Safe website includes a library of resources related to reducing injury and death of individuals with dementia and developmental disabilities that can be referenced in discussions on neurocognitive disorders.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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This resource provides considerations for balancing an individual’s autonomy with their safety, discusses alternatives that can be used in place of or in addition to locative technology, and outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of using locative technology.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource can be referenced in discussions on locative technology.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
This webinar includes law enforcement, family members, and disability advocates speakers discussing their personal and professional experiences about strategies to address wandering by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as the use of locative technology as a last resort.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource can be referenced in discussions on locative technology.
Module 12. Legal and Policy Topics
Created by: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
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This webpage provides information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including general ADA requirements, systemic considerations, and additional resources.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides examples of how law enforcement agencies have facilitated compliance with the ADA that can be incorporated into discussions on the ADA.
Created by: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
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This webpage provides information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), interacting with people with disabilities, effective communication, architectural access, and modifications of policies, practices, and procedures.
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Tip for Trainers: This resource provides examples of law enforcement interactions with people with disabilities and how agencies have facilitated compliance with the ADA that can be incorporated into discussions on the ADA.
Created by: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
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This webpage provides examples of communication aids and services to support effective communication with people with disabilities.
Tip for Trainers: These examples can be incorporated into discussions on accommodations.
Module 13. Veterans
Created by: Council on Criminal Justice
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This document summarizes the current state of knowledge about veterans in the civilian justice system. It highlights the service-related factors that increase risk for veterans’ justice system contact and reviews existing programs and services designed to address that risk at three critical points in time: (1) the transition from active-duty military service to civilian life; (2) arrest through criminal sentencing (the “front end” of the justice system); and (3) incarceration through reentry into communities after release (the “back end” of the system).
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides information on veterans’ risk factors for criminal justice involvement, identifying veterans as they enter the system, and deflection and diversion programs that can be incorporated into discussions on issues impacting combat veterans and veterans and justice involvement.
Module 14. Homelessness
Created by: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
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This section of BJA’s Police-Mental Health Collaboration (PMHC) Toolkit provides key context on the connections between homelessness and justice involvement, key strategies for leaders looking to develop housing outreach initiatives, and practical advice for officers and community partners to make connections to housing and services. It also provides examples of successful outreach efforts in several communities.
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Tip for Trainers: This website provides information that can be used to support discussions on homelessness and justice involvement and best practices for effective outreach and care connections.
Module 15. Community Resources
Created by: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
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This publication is meant to help communities identify the gaps and opportunities in their existing system that will enhance their efforts to divert people with mental illness from justice system involvement.
Tip for Trainers: This resource provides information on supports and services that help people with mental illness maintain their wellness.
Created by: Academic Training to Inform Police Responses
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This multi-page guide provides insights into the developmental disability community, offers suggestions for successful interactions with people with developmental disabilities, and outlines options for safe and effective deflection and pre-arrest diversion when people with developmental disabilities encounter law enforcement and may be experiencing a crisis or are otherwise in need of services.
Tip for Trainers: This guide can be provided to training participants and includes additional content on the core values of the disability community and recommended responses, sample accommodations, and where to find developmental disability services and supports.
Module 17. Scenario-Based Skills Training – De-escalation Strategies
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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These documents provide law enforcement officers with guidelines for appropriately accommodating, interacting, and communicating with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
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Tip for Trainers: The model policy includes recommendations for interacting with people with IDD that can be incorporated into discussions on de-escalation strategies.
Created by: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
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These documents provide guidance to law enforcement officers when responding to or encountering persons experiencing a mental health crisis.
Tip for Trainers: The model policy includes recommendations for recognizing behaviors that may indicate a person is in crisis and responding to people in crisis that can be included in discussions on de-escalation strategies.