175490 Demographic and Clinical Correlates of Police-Involved Admissions to Psychiatric Emergency Services

Monday, October 27, 2008

Eric Ryan Kessell, PhD, MPH , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
George Jay Unick, PhD, MSW , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Jennifer Alvidrez, PhD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Richard Patel, MD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Martha Shumway, PhD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Introduction: Police officers are often responsible for determining whether persons in crisis are brought to psychiatric emergency services (PES) for assessment; officers in San Francisco respond to nearly 900 mental-health-related calls each month and are thus important partners to the public mental-health system. This study's goals were to better understand the role of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) in involuntary admissions to San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) PES by examining demographic and clinical patterns associated with SFPD involvement. Methods: Demographic, clinical and referral source data were extracted from SFGH PES records from 1/1/2005-3/1/2005. Results: Of 1,265 PES admissions, 668 (53%) involved the SFPD. SFPD involvement was not associated with patient functioning or racial/ethnic background (47% White, 28% Black, 13% Asian, 10% Latino). Compared to admissions that did not involve the SFPD, patients in SFPD-involved admissions were more likely to be male (66.5% vs. 60.6%, OR=1.3), to have used alcohol/drugs (OR=1.8) and exhibited violence (OR=2.5) and were less likely to report suicidal ideation (OR=0.50). Patients with SFPD-involved admissions were more likely to be placed in restraints in PES (OR=2.8). Conclusions: Police-involved admissions are racially/ethnically similar to admissions from other sources, but are more likely to be of men and to involve complicating factors such as violent behavior and substance use. These attributes suggest the need for more resources devoted to substance abuse services and enhanced support and collaboration from mental health providers in community settings where police encounter individuals in psychiatric crisis.

Learning Objectives:
Identify factors associated with police involvement in psychiatric emergencies.

Keywords: Criminal Justice, Sever Mental Illness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the design of the study, and collected and analyzed the data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.