Police perceptions and contact among people with mental illnesses

Comparisons with a general population survey

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12434255
AutoresSarah L Desmarai (0000-0003-4976-1276, North Carolina State University, autor de correspondencia), James D Livingston, James Livingston (0000-0002-5989-8404, University of Saint Mary), Caroline Louise Greaves (BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services), Kiersten L Johnson (0000-0002-0266-2521, North Carolina State University), Simon N Verdun‐Jones (Simon Fraser University), Simon Verdun-Jones, Rick Parent (Simon Fraser University), Johann Brink (0000-0003-2362-6244, BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services)
Año2014
Volumen20
Número4
Páginas431-442
Fecha de publicación2014-08-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPsychology Public Policy and Law (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1076-8971 • E-ISSN: 1939-1528
EditorialAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/law0000023
OpenAlexW2090142593
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9

Though studies have surveyed police officers' perceptions of people with mental illnesses (PMI), few have examined perceptions held by PMI regarding the police, and none have compared them with those held by the general population. This study sought to (a) examine perceptions of police held by PMI, (b) compare them to perceptions held by the general population, and (c) explore whether differences between PMI and general population perceptions are attributable to contact with the police in the past year. We drew data from a survey of 244 PMI and the 2009 Canadian General Social Survey (GSS) (Brennan, 2011). Both surveys administered the same items querying perceptions of and contact with the police in the prior 12 months. GSS participants were individually matched to PMI participants on sociodemographic characteristics (n = 225 per group). Overall, participants held fairly positive perceptions of the police, but perceptions held by GSS participants were more positive than those held by PMI participants. PMI participants were more likely than GSS participants to have contact with the police in the prior 12 months. In multivariate models, perceptions differed between PMI and GSS participants for police performance in being approachable and treating people fairly, and overall confidence in police; police contact was not associated with perceptions nor did it moderate effects of participant group. Consistent with the procedural justice framework, fair and equitable treatment appears to be of primary relevance to PMI perceptions of the police. Further efforts are needed to improve PMI perceptions of the police in these areas

Environmental health · Mental health · Perception · Population · Psychiatry · Child Abuse and Trauma · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending