Police officers deal with mental illness-related incidents on an almost
daily basis. Ian Cummins explores how factors such as
deinstitutionalisation, community care failings and, more recently,
welfare retrenchment policies have led to this situation. He then
considers how police officers should be supported by community mental
health agencies to make confident and correct decisions, and to ensure
that the individuals they encounter receive support from the most
appropriate services. Of interest to police researchers and students of
criminology and the social sciences, the book examines police officers'
views on mental health work and includes a chapter by a service user.