The record was obtained by the New York Civil Liberties Union. A lawsuit filed against the New York Police Department in March Shared with POLITICO.
Adams has focused on the intersecting crises of homelessness and mental illness as part of a larger effort to address voter concerns about crime and security. His approach has drawn outrage from civil rights activists such as the New York Citizens’ Union and the law, calling it ineffective in addressing serious mental health concerns and a dangerous violation of individual constitutional rights. are provoking action.
Supporters also criticize police involvement in implementing Adams’ directives, given the numerous instances of people in mental health crises being killed or seriously injured by NYPD officers. Former police captain Adams said the patrolmen hand over endangered cases to other units in the unit “who have received more training than the superficial training that routine police do.” .
But the training material, published here for the first time, unilaterally decides that any uniformed soldier needs to involuntarily take someone to the hospital because he can’t take care of himself. It shows that you have the authority.
Beth Harolds, Disability Judicial Litigation Director at the NYCLU, said the presentation was part of the city’s promise to provide police with in-depth training on “basic needs” standards and a refresher on crisis communication strategies. He said it seemed contradictory. Although the slides and video overlap extensively, it appears that the patrol officer only gets 25 minutes of review time at most.
Police academies, meanwhile, spend at least four and a half hours teaching junior officers about “policing the mentally unstable,” according to the New York City Police Department’s student guide.
In an emailed statement, a police spokesperson, who asked not to be identified, said officers already received “significant training” in interacting with people with mental illness and their powers of involuntary involvement. rice field. More than 90% of patrol, traffic and housing police officers are trained in voluntary and involuntary transport, the ministry said.
“Police academy recruits are taught mental illness, how to recognize mental illness, effective communication and appropriate tactics,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “In addition, a significant portion of our members have undergone crisis intervention training, which teaches members how to respond effectively to critical incidents and improve their communication skills with people with mental disabilities.”
“We stand ready to do our part, and do so with the full support and consideration of the NYPD,” the spokesperson added.
Since Adams announced the directive on November 29, few details have been released about its implementation by police officers and frontline mental health workers. City officials have yet to release data on how many people have been involuntarily detained for “failure to meet basic needs” criteria. And at least one agency, NYC Health + Hospitals, said: That metric is not tracked — Total number of involuntary hospitalizations only.
Scenarios presented in training sessions provide insight into potential situations in which police officers may exercise their expanded powers. A similar presentation for clinicians previously obtained by POLITICO outlined several different scenarios in which involuntary involvement might be appropriate.
In the case of a fictional Queens woman, a person sleeping on the street during a Code Blue warning, which is issued when the temperature reaches 32 degrees Celsius or below, is “deemed not to care about herself and is involuntarily detained.” There is a possibility that it will be done,” the presentation pointed out. Psychiatric evaluation in hospital. ”
In another scenario, a “neatly dressed” man lives in a messy house and says he’s just been discharged from the hospital after being abducted by aliens, according to the documents. Police called to check on him, but he was not a threat to himself or others and did not appear to be incapable of caring for himself. No individual should be forcibly transported to
Signs of inability to take care of yourself, as described in the presentation, include strong odors of faeces or urine, rotting flesh, extreme swelling of the legs or feet, untreated wounds, and not wearing shoes. , makeshift crutches or casts, malnutrition, and caring. I have worms on my body.
An internal memo sent to Politico by the agency on Dec. 6 to the NYPD General Command noted that people who might meet the criteria, such as those who behaved incoherently on subway tracks or in the path of oncoming traffic, example was also given.
Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Police Charitable Association, which represents the rank and file of the New York Police Department, said the association “continues to provide higher-quality training for its members, particularly on sensitive and complex subjects such as dealing with mental health.” I am really looking for it,” he said. ”
“Police officers will inevitably remain on the front lines of the mental health crisis no matter what other policies the city puts in place,” Lynch said in a statement. “We need the most thorough training possible and we need city leaders to support us in carrying out the instructions.”
State law specifically allows police and security personnel to forcibly kill people for psychiatric evaluation. But civil rights and criminal justice advocacy groups say the NYPD is incapable of taking responsibility, at least in part because of inadequate training.
“This is not the role of the NYPD,” Harolds said. “They shouldn’t be trying to deal with very complex social issues related to health issues.”
In fact, if a mental health professional is present, the training material instructs NYPD personnel to follow that person’s judgment. [uniformed members of service] When clinicians make this decision, they endorse their decisions rather than argue with them,” says the 15-minute presentation.
But clinicians (including psychologists and social workers on mobile emergency response teams) with the authority to involuntarily rape are far fewer than the tens of thousands of uniformed police who patrol the city at all times. .
The slide shows that if a clinician is not present, a NYPD officer will be asked if someone is unable to meet basic human needs due to mental illness and must involuntarily commit crimes. It indicates that there is a possibility of unilaterally deciding whether Like the example of an inappropriately dressed woman on the street, for example. cold weather. (Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, some people taken unconsciously Go to the hospital during the code blue warning period. )
As part of Adams’ direction, New York City Health and Hospital established a support hotline through which NYPD employees can call for guidance in determining whether a particular person should be involuntarily transferred to the hospital. launched. However, a presentation for training health hospital clinicians who staff hotlines was obtained by the NYCLU in a public records request and shared with POLITICO, it said. [sic] Decision. “
