Reducing policing in mental health crises: A vision for university campuses

J Am Coll Health. 2023 Nov;71(8):2295-2298. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1967363. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

Abstract

University campuses could become leaders in developing alternatives to policing for managing public health and safety, yet, nearly all campuses rely on campus or local police to respond to mental health emergencies. Herein, we present the available evidence for campus mobile crisis intervention teams (MCITs) as an alternative to policing, consider what colleges and universities can learn from existing community MCIT models, and propose initial steps for the development and implementation of a campus MCIT.

Keywords: crisis response; mental health; policing.

MeSH terms

  • Crisis Intervention
  • Humans
  • Mental Health*
  • Police*
  • Students
  • Universities