Restorative Policing

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Restorative Policing

• Innovations In Law Enforcement Mental Health
  Collaboration

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Joel Fay, Psy.D.San Rafael Police
DepartmentMental Health Liaison Officer
Miles D. Kramer, LCSW Forensic Services
Supervisor Marin County Community Mental Health
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Defining a Restorative Perspective

• Restorative Policing Occurs Within A Public
  Service Collaborative.
• Maintains Public Safety.
• Increases Community Awareness Involvement.
• Encourages Clients To Use Treatment Supportive
  Services Instead Of Criminal Justice Services.
• Uses Individual Advocacy As A Primary
  Intervention.

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Johns Story
August 1997
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Life On The Street

• Johns Behavior Was Viewed As Criminal.
• John Never Followed Through With Mental Health
  Services.
• John Refused Mental Health Treatment.
• Government Was Comfortably Apathetic.

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A Different Perspective

• Johns Behavior Was Symptomatic Of His Mental
  Illness.
• Johns Lack Of Compliance With Mental Health
  Treatment Plans Was ALSO Symptomatic Of His
  Mental Illness.
• When Provided An Option On His Terms, John
  Accepted Treatment.
• John Is Now A Productive Member Of Society.

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Shifting Perspectives

• Moving To A Restorative Perspective May Require
  Overcoming A Variety Of Obstacles And Fighting A
  Few Political Battles But The End Result Is A
  Collaborative Public Service Criminal Justice
  System Where Agents Are Proactive Ready To Work
  On Problems Instead Of Simply Defending Their
  Territory.

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Perspectives

• Police
• Mental Health
• Clients
• Systems Governments

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Its Not Good Police Work

• Mental Health Treatment Is NOT Our job.
• Police are Crime Fighters.
• Police Culture Forces In-Box, Thinking.

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Consider the Alternative

• Police Are Forced To Repeatedly Arrest Mentally
  Ill Persons With Little Hope That Each Arrest
  Will Effect Any Change In Their Lives.
• The Community Expects Law Enforcement To Solve
  Problems.
• Mentally Ill Persons Maintain Active Involvement
  In The Criminal Justice System Twice As Long As
  Healthy People.
• Mental Health Service Providers Refuse To Provide
  Services To Persons With Criminal History
  Police Become Under-Resourced Street Level Case
  Managers.

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Its Not Good Mental Health

• You Cant Police, Someone Into Accepting
  Treatment.
• Police Officers Can Not Be Trusted With
  Confidential Information.
• Police Dont Like Mentally Ill People They
  Often Abuse Them.
• Police Arent Equipped To Handle Mentally Ill
  Persons.
• Giving Police Information About A Persons Mental
  Health History Is Criminalizing The Mentally Ill.

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Consider the Alternative

• Mental Health Police Interface Only During
  Crisis Situations Each Assuming The Other To Be
  Uncaring Incompetent.
• Police Never Know What Goes On In The Clinic.
• Mental Health Providers Never Know What Goes On
  In The Streets.
• Both Services Work Toward The Same Ultimate Goal
  Often In Conflict Without The Benefit Of Mutual
  Assistance.

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Its Not Good For Clients

• Clients Are Afraid Of Police
• Frequent Contacts With Police Put Clients At Risk
  Of Abuse Arrest.
• Police Dont Understand Or Believe In Mental
  Illness
• Police Think Clients Are To Blame For Their
  Illness Their Problems.
• Adding law Enforcement To A Mental Health Care
  Plans Denies A Clients Right To Self
  Determination.

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Consider The Alternative

• Clients Only Meet Police When Theyre In Crisis.
• Police Only Meet Clients When Theyre In Crisis.
• Clients Who Frequently Contact Law Enforcement
  Are At Higher Risk Of Incarceration If Law
  Enforcement Is Unaware Theyre Trying To Manage
  Their Illness.
• Often Those Who Reject The Value Of Police
  Service In Mental Health, Claiming To Be In
  Support Of Patients Rights, Will Do Little To
  Support A Patients Right To Effective Treatment
  Over Incarcerations.

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Its Not Good Government

• Collaboratives Are Too Complex, Inefficient
  Expensive.
• Collaboratives Allow Routine Diffusion Of
  Responsibility.
• The Outcome Is Rarely Worth The Time Invested.
• The Diversity of Services And Personalities
  Cannot Be Effectively Combined.

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Consider The Alternative

• Governments Continue To Utilize The Most
  Expensive Least Effective Resources.
• Effective Collaboration Is Based On
  Accountability.
• Working In Isolation Is Usually The Least
  Efficient Method Often Resulting In Omission or
  Duplication of Needed Services.
• Collaboration Provides A Common Language For
  Cooperation.

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We Cant Do That Here

• We Cant Fund That Type Of Project.
• Were Too Big For That Project.
• Were Already Overloaded With Work.

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Consider The Alternative

• The Marin FMDT Has Operated For Over Two Years
  With A Budget of 0,000,00.00.
• The Biggest Obstacle Is A Lack Of Trust, Not
  Geography.
• Collaboration Reduces Repetition, Wasted Effort
  and Work Load.

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Developing A New Approach

• Community Oriented Policing Authorized
  Non-Traditional Partnerships With Community
  Service Organizations.
• Restorative Justice Promotes Restoration Of
  Sustaining Skill Over Punishment.
• Moves Law Enforcement From Crisis Management To
  Long-Term Intervention.

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Collaboration Between Community Service Providers

• Mental Health Liaison Officers.
• A Forensic Multi-Disciplinary Team.

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Mental Health Liaison Officers

• Each Local Department Assigned An Officer.
• Officers Meet Monthly To Receive Extra Training
  Discuss Active Cases.
• Assist Families In Locating Services.
• Collaborates With Community Based Agencies.

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Whos On The Team
District Attorney Public Defender Community Mental Health Law Enforcement Detention Medical Staff Adult Protective Services Office Of The Public Guardian Marin General Hospital NAMI - Marin Ritter House Community Action Marin Tam Day Buckelew Programs Marin Housing Marin General Psychiatry Helen Vine Detox BACR Jail Drug Alcohol Enterprise Resource Center Marin County Patients Rights
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What Does The Forensic Team Do?

• Meets Monthly To Discuss Law Enforcement Case
  Management Requests.
• Uses A Combination Of Law Enforcement And
  Treatment Methods Philosophy.
• Uses Coordinated Effort Between Criminal Justice
  Human Services.
• Develops Cooperative Action Plans.
• Adopts A No-Give-Up Policy.

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Some Basic Numbers

• 61 Total Cases
• 39 Closed Cases
• 22 Current Open Cases

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Outcome Data
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Daniels Story(The Forensic Team At Work)

• Challenging A System To Change One Individual At
  A Time
• Action Plans Try To Meet The Individual Needs Of
  The Client.
• Action Plans Reflect The Groups Objective For
  The Person.
• Action Plans Are Assertive Compassionate
  Tactics.

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Common Ground

• To partner mental health with law enforcement,
  mental heath providers must commit to take direct
  assertive action on behalf of their clients,
  while law enforcement must be willing to stay
  involved in situations to ensure a long term
  solution.

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Lessons Learned

• You Wont Be Perfect
• Some Cases Will Strain The Limits of Your
  Collaboration
• Build Group Accountability and Collaboration
• When You Get Stuck Agree to Continue
• Dont Drop Back To Your Old Ways Even When Your
  New Model Doesnt Seem to Be Working
• Adopt a No-Give-UP Policy People Dont
  Disappear

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The Road Ahead
The Difficulty Lies Not in The New Ideas, But In
Escaping The Old Ones. - John
Maynard Keynes
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Contact Numbers
Miles Kramer 415-507-2725
Joel Fay 415-485-5773 ext. 111366