{"id":33466,"date":"2017-10-06T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/researchdev\/2017\/10\/06\/research-offers-solutions-to-police-youth-mental-health-clashes-2\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T08:56:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T13:56:04","slug":"research-offers-solutions-to-police-youth-mental-health-clashes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/research\/2017\/10\/06\/research-offers-solutions-to-police-youth-mental-health-clashes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Research offers solutions to police-youth mental health clashes"},"content":{"rendered":"

York U researcher leads study that offers solutions for police encounters with vulnerable group: children and youth seeking help for mental health.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Public concern and outcry over police clashes with youth suffering with mental health issues exploded with the death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim in summer 2013. Images of an emotionally distraught youth confronted by the Toronto Police Services on a streetcar, and the subsequent shooting death of Yatim by the authorities brought the issue to a head. It also led to a review of the use of lethal force with persons experiencing a mental health crisis by the Toronto Police Services.<\/p>\n

Despite the white-hot media attention at the time, little research has followed. Could these encounters be preventable through improved and evidence-informed police, social service and family support?<\/p>\n

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\"This<\/p>\n

This new research suggests that police encounters could be preventable through stigma-informed crisis intervention training and holistic crisis planning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Maria<\/p>\n

Maria Liegghio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A team of researchers led by Professor Maria Liegghio of York University\u2019s School of Social Work, including graduate students\/alumni Prableen Jaswal, Cory Brown and Angele Sandha, alongside researchers from the University of Waterloo, McMaster and Wilfrid Laurier, asked this vital question. Funding was provided from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Small Research grant and a Minor Research grant from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. What the team found could become indispensable new knowledge for police, parents and social services: Stigma-informed crisis intervention training and holistic crisis planning could formulate brand new and increasingly effective responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research fills a gap in mental health scholarship. Most previous studies looked at police encounters with adults, whereas we focused on children and youth,\u201d Liegghio explains.<\/p>\n

Stigma is serious barrier to getting help<\/h3>\n

Liegghio began with the wider context of mental illness: Earlier studies showed that the stigma of mental illness is a prime reason why children, youth and their caregivers avoid, delay or do not access mental health services.<\/p>\n

Study captured quantitative and qualitative data for fulsome analysis<\/h3>\n

The goal of Liegghio\u2019s study was to examine police encounters in child and youth mental health. To do this, her team studied statistics about police involvement among a community sample of children and youth (up to 24 years of age) accessing mental health services in the Region of Peel (Ontario).<\/p>\n

This data, collected from 2009 to 2014 and stripped of all identifying information, was provided by a mental health agency in Peel called \u201cThe Centre.\u201d Liegghio selected Peel due to its diverse ethno-cultural and newcomer\/immigrant groups.<\/p>\n

The researchers also studied detailed qualitative notes about the cases from 2009 to 2011. Capturing both quantitative and qualitative data provided the researchers with a particularly fulsome view of the issue.<\/p>\n

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\"Stigma<\/p>\n

Stigma of mental illness is a prime reason why youth avoid, delay or do not access mental health services<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Quantitative story: One in six children and youth have had encounter with police<\/h3>\n

The researchers learned that of 8,920 cases, 1,449 children and youth had had police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services. From 2009 to 2014, 16 per cent of this population \u00a0\u0336 \u00a0or one in six children and youth \u00a0\u0336\u00a0 had experienced police encounters.<\/p>\n

Boys\/men were 1.5 times more likely than girls\/women to have had police involvement. The majority of boys\/men (over 63 per cent) were between 14 and 17\u00a0years of age. (Demographic information such as race and socio-economic status, was not reliably collected and, therefore, excluded.)<\/p>\n

Qualitative story: Criminalization of children and youth experiencing mental health challenges<\/h3>\n

Through the case notes where the youth and children had encountered police, the researchers were able to dig deeper. These qualitative memos, which effectively explained why the police were involved, showed two main reasons: (1) to support a distressed child, and (2) due to concerns about a child\u2019s conduct and behaviors.<\/p>\n

Reason no. 1: Supporting a distressed child<\/h6>\n

The types of behaviors for which police were called included:<\/p>\n