The lack of robust mental health programs throughout the USA has resulted in police frequently being responsible for responding to calls about people with mental illness who are in crisis. Working with people with mental illness as offenders or as individuals needing emergency assistance is a regular part of the job for many in law enforcement, yet specialized training is not a regular part of most academy or in-service training curricula. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs consist of a 40-h training for police and mental health personnel. The programs teach officers about mental illness, its causes and symptoms, and focuses on de-escalation tactics and use of available community resources as alternatives to criminal justice outcomes for calls. The current study explores officers’ feelings of preparedness to work with community members with mental illness and their levels of endorsement of mental health stigma. Researchers surveyed police from nine different local departments in southern New Jersey. Half of the surveyed officers completed CIT training, allowing for comparisons between officers who were trained and those who were not. Results indicate that the CIT-trained officers were more likely to endorse different types of mental health stigma than non-trained officers, but those who were CIT-trained reported feeling better prepared for calls involving people with mental illness.

美国各地缺乏健全的心理健康计划，导致警察经常负责回应有关处于危机中的精神疾病患者的电话。与作为罪犯或需要紧急援助的个人一起工作是许多执法人员工作的常规部分，但专业培训并不是大多数学院或在职培训课程的常规部分。危机干预小组 (CIT) 计划包括对警察和心理健康人员的 40 小时培训。这些计划向警官传授精神疾病、其原因和症状，并侧重于降级策略和使用可用社区资源作为刑事司法结果的替代方案。目前的研究探讨了官员对与患有精神疾病的社区成员一起工作的准备感受以及他们对精神健康污名的认可程度。研究人员调查了新泽西州南部九个不同地方部门的警察。一半接受调查的军官完成了 CIT 培训，可以比较受过培训的军官和未受过培训的军官。结果表明，接受过 CIT 培训的官员比未受过培训的官员更有可能认可不同类型的心理健康污名，但接受过 CIT 培训的官员报告说，他们对涉及精神疾病患者的电话做好了更好的准备。半数接受调查的军官完成了 CIT 培训，从而可以将受过培训的军官与未受训的军官进行比较。结果表明，接受过 CIT 培训的官员比未受过培训的官员更有可能认可不同类型的心理健康污名，但接受过 CIT 培训的官员报告说，他们对涉及精神疾病患者的电话做好了更好的准备。半数接受调查的军官完成了 CIT 培训，从而可以将受过培训的军官与未受训的军官进行比较。结果表明，接受过 CIT 培训的官员比未受过培训的官员更有可能认可不同类型的心理健康污名，但接受过 CIT 培训的官员报告说，他们对涉及精神疾病患者的电话做好了更好的准备。