The Costs Incurred by Law Enforcement for the Transport of Individuals with Mental Illness

Law enforcement officers are often required to transport individuals in mental health crisis to appropriate services, such as emergency rooms, crisis centers or inpatient facilities. In addition, law enforcement are often responsible for non-emergency transportation of individuals with mental illness to and from jail, courts and medical facilities. Because mental health treatment facilities are in short supply, often times these facilities are miles away from the original pick-up location. This requires officers to spend additional time and resources for the transport. 

The first step in addressing these issues is to understand the overall role of law enforcement in psychiatric crisis response and transport of individuals with serious mental illness and the impacts of these responsibilities on public resources. The purpose of this survey is to develop this data on a national level from police departments and sheriffs’ offices throughout the country. The results will be analyzed and recommendations for policy makers will be developed into a joint report from the Treatment Advocacy Center, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police.

Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.