Crisis Intervention Team Analysis and Its Effects on the U.S. Correctional System

A large portion of the United States have mental illnesses, yet we struggle to train our community police officers on how to handle people who suffer from them. Those with a mental illness think and act differently than a person without. This is where Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs) come in and play a growing role in responding to mental health crises, especially in the criminal justice system. This paper examines the effects of CITs on the U.S. correctional system, focusing on how these specialized teams impact individuals with mental health issues who come into contact with law enforcement. CITs train officers to handle mental health crises with the goal of reducing arrests and diverting individuals to treatment instead of jail. It is critical to provide this training to ensure a smooth interaction between officers and people having a mental health crisis. The paper explores how CITs have helped improve safety and outcomes within correctional facilities by lowering the use of force and providing better support for individuals in crisis. It also looks at the challenges of implementing CIT programs in correctional settings and discusses how implementing these programs could lead to more effective and compassionate approaches for dealing with mental health issues in the justice system. Of course no program is perfect, some limitations of CIT include a lack of resources, lack of training aspects, and a lack of research. All in all, CIT training is more beneficial than consequential and is worth standardizing in police departments across the country.