Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Programs and Suicide

In response to the disproportionate number of individuals with mental disorders incarcerated in local jails and prisons, crisis intervention team (CIT) programs were designed to train law enforcement officers to divert mentally ill individuals to mental healthcare resources. CIT programs and researchers soon determined that many CIT encounters involved an individual displaying suicidal behaviors by either threatening or attempting to commit suicide. Using a database containing 3103 St. Louis Area CIT Program encounters in 2005 through 2009, it was determined that many of these individuals displayed suicidal behaviors. The study used descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis to examine their demographic characteristics, type of suicidal behaviors, and the factors associated with the disposition/outcome. The findings are that (a) the large majority of CIT encounters involved individuals engaged in suicidal behaviors; (b) this study reached different conclusions from previous CIT and suicide researchers regarding methods used or planned to be used in a suicide attempt; and (c) of those arrested and taken into custody (0.6%), most (86%) were taken first to an Emergency Department for evaluation and treatment. Future studies should focus on CIT programs that employ CIT officers and mental health professional teams that determine which individuals to transport to an emergency department and which can receive outpatient behavioral healthcare. © 2020, Springer Nature India Private Limited.