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41O-Responding to the Mentally Ill 2019
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41O-Responding to the Mentally Ill 2019
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<br /> <br />Policy & Procedure Page 1 of 11 <br /> <br />Lexington Police <br />Department <br />Subject: Responding to the Mentally Ill <br /> <br /> <br />Policy Number: <br /> 41O Accreditation Standards: <br />Reference: 1.1.3; 41.2.7 Effective Date: <br />3/11/13 <br /> New <br /> Revised <br />Revision <br />Dates: <br />1/24/19 <br /> <br />By Order of: Mark J. Corr, Chief of Police <br /> <br /> <br />The Municipal Police Institute, Inc. (MPI) is a private, nonprofit charitable affiliate of the <br />Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. MPI provides training and model policies and <br />procedures for police agencies. This policy is an edited version of MPI Policy 1.16, “Handling <br />the Mentally Ill.” <br /> <br />GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES <br /> <br />Reaction to persons impacted by mental illness covers a wide range of human <br />responses. People impacted by mental illness are ignored, laughed at, feared, pitied <br />and often mistreated. Unlike the general public, however, a police officer cannot permit <br />personal feelings to dictate his/her reaction to the mentally ill. His/her conduct must <br />reflect a professional attitude and be guided by the fact that mental illness, standing <br />alone, does not permit or require any particular police activity. Individual rights are not <br />lost or diminished merely by virtue of a person's mental condition. These principles, <br />as well as the following procedures, must guide an officer when his/her duties bring <br />him/her in contact with a mentally ill person. <br /> <br />Every year police officers are severely hurt or even killed when responding to calls <br />involving behavioral health/mental illness. It is extremely important that officers are <br />professional and cognizant of officer safety when handling these calls for service. <br /> <br />It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department that: <br /> <br /> Officers shall accord all persons, including those with mental illness, all the <br />individual rights to which they are entitled; and <br /> Officers shall attempt to protect mentally ill persons from harm and shall refer <br />them to agencies or persons able to provide services where appropriate. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
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