A novel approach to training police officers to interact with individuals who may have a psychiatric disorder.

Police and law enforcement providers frequently come in contact with individuals who have psychiatric disorders. Repeated studies suggest that greater understanding of psychiatric conditions by police officers would be beneficial. However, few training approaches have been examined. We present a novel approach to training police officers to interact with those who may have a psychiatric disorder. This approach involved development of a program in which police officers interacted with actors highly trained to present one of six realistic psychiatric scenarios. Confidential feedback was given, both by experienced police officers and by the actors, to improve awareness of the officers' behavior. Qualitative feedback from both officers and actors was used to determine the acceptance of role-play training. A total of 663 police officers were trained, with feedback from 381. Results showed that this approach was well accepted by most police officers, and the use of carefully controlled role play in training for police is strongly recommended. Future analysis will determine whether training improves police behavior with respect to interaction with mentally ill individuals.