A preventative, victim focused, policy frames police practice in New Zealand. However, research tells us that whānau who experience mental distress are more likely to be victimised, socially excluded, and when in crisis, treated coercively by police.
How then, do police put this policy into practice and how is it experienced by whānau when police respond to mental health events in the community?
This project aims to answer this question by exploring how the police’s policy is applied and experienced when police respond to mental health events.
The project is underpinned by a co-production methodology. This means the team is composed of both police and researchers, some with their own experience mental distress, working together for the course of the project.
There are three phases to the project
Citizen experiences
This phase involves exploring citizens’ experiences of police encounters while in mental distress. The objective will be to co-produce stories with citizens, which indicate the role police played in mitigating or increasing mental distress.
Police experiences
This phase involves observing police practices through interviews and observations. The objective is to describe how the interactions that occur between police and citizens, and the challenges police face as they negotiate a resolution to a mental health event.
Synthesis
We will then draw on the first two phases to contribute new perspectives on how to improve police responses to people who experience mental distress in the community and inform evidence-based police strategies.
Read more about the project
We have created posts on FAQs around the project and how you can participate.
Why do this project?
This project is important right now because police are increasingly called to support citizens in the community who are experiencing mental distress. Prevention First, the policy that guides police responses, identified mental health as one of six drivers of police demand. This policy directs police to practice in a preventative, victim-focused, way. However, we know…
How are we doing the research?
The citizen experience In this phase of the project, we will co-produce citizens’ stories of police engagement while experiencing mental health distress. This will involve meeting up with whānau in the community for one interview, followed by informal interactions that will generate a co-produced narrative. The interviews will allow whānau to ‘communicate their story’ about…
Whānau/citizen stories 