The training helps police identify behaviours indicative of mental illness, and provides them with tools and crisis intervention techniques to manage them, as well as understanding of the current Mental Health Act.
âHowever, high profile cases, such as police fatal shootings of mentally ill individuals, tend to receive media attention and, thus, skew public perception that the police are not handling these cases well,â Kruger told Guardian Australia.
âSuch cases also lead to the perception of mental illness as âcriminalâ or âdangerousâ, which is rarely the case. Research has also found that, in general, police are âgatekeepersâ or a âone stop shopâ for complicated social issues, including mental health.â