Is everyone off their meds?
To law enforcement officers everywhere that’s sure what it seems like. Calls for “mentally disturbed persons” are off the charts and they often pose a real danger for responding officers.
Officers in San Diego and nearby cities and towns is just one area that has been slammed with a massive increase in mental health emergency calls including large numbers of attempted suicides.
The numbers are contained in a new report by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Between 2008 and 2013, the total number of mental health-related calls jumped from 14,442 in 2008 to 22,315 in 2013, according to the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division.
“There is little doubt that mental health is becoming a greater focus of law enforcement,” noted Brian Marvel, the president of the San Diego Police Officers Association. “This agency has worked hard to respond to this upward trend with resources, education, and updated policies. But the San Diego P.D.’s problems with recruiting and retaining officers has placed stress on all aspects of our department’s mission.”
The ongoing manpower problems in San Diego leave little room to institute policies and implement training to better prepare officers to deal with this huge increase in mental health and disturbed persons calls.
“The Department’s top priority continues to be maintaining a minimum amount of patrol officers who conduct the core duties of our department,” Marvel continued. “As soon as the city hires more officers we will be able to improve our ability to respond to and manage mental health calls.”
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department and the San Diego, Oceanside and Chula Vista Police Departments have recently seen 55 percent more calls for help involving people with mental health issues.