Abstract
BACKGROUND
The Ministry of Health reports that on average 150,000 New Zealand people are seen by mental health and addiction services each year. Of this group, a percentage enter mental health services following involvement from the police service. Front line police are often the first point of contact when people with mental illness enter the mental health service. The police service reports that the number of callouts to people with mental health concerns is growing annually. Ensuring good relations between front line police and mental health services is paramount to providing a better outcome for the community.
AIM
This study aims to ascertain if a history of mental illness affects the response received when service users come into contact with the police service and if so does it change the decision making of the police with regard to potential prosecution.
METHOD
A qualitative design was chosen for this study with the data gathered using focus groups for three specifically selected groups of staff. Front line police officers, mental health nursing staff based at the central police station and the inpatient nursing staff from the adult acute admission mental health service. The data gathered from these focus groups was analysed using thematic analysis and coded into themes.
RESULTS
From the analysis four main themes emerged: Understanding, Frustration, Communication, and Prosecution and the outlying theme Stigma and Discrimination. These themes allowed the researcher to develop more meaningful understanding of the challenges faced by front line police officers when they encounter mental illness and the barriers to collaboration that exist between mental health services and the police. This study provides police officers, police station nurses and inpatient nurses with an insight into the cross-service issue that exist between their service.