Policy Text
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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4.8 Police Office Custody of Mentally Ill Persons
4.8.1 General Information (Issued: 6/25/07)
Occasionally, police officers may encounter persons who exhibit behaviors indicative of mental
instability to the extent that custody or protective custody appears necessary. Officers
encountering such persons will be courteous and ensure the legal rights and privileges granted all
citizens. Officers should also be cognizant of the philosophy of California law, which encourages
informal tre atment in the “home” community as an alternative to institutional confinement.
Dealing with individuals who are known or suspected to be mentally ill in law enforcement and
related contexts carries the potential for violence, requires an officer to make d ifficult judgments
about the mental state and intent of the individual, and requires special police skills and abilities
to effectively and legally deal with the person so as to avoid unnecessary violence and potential
civil litigation. Given the unpredict able and sometimes violent nature of the mentally ill, officers
should never compromise or jeopardize their safety or the safety of others when dealing with
individuals displaying symptoms of mental illness. In the context of law enforcement and related
activities, officers shall be guided by California statute, the San Francisco General Hospital
(SFGH) Psychiatric Emergency Services and UCSF Emergency Department regarding the
detention of the mentally ill. Officers shall use this policy to assist them in d efining whether a
person’s behavior is indicative of mental illness and dealing with the mentally ill in a
constructive and humane manner.
A. Recognizing Abnormal Behavior
Mental illness is often difficult for even the trained professional to define in a given
individual. Officers are not expected to make judgments of mental or emotional
disturbance but, rather, to recognize behavior that is potentially destructive and/or
dangerous to self or others. The following are generalized signs and symptoms of
behavior that may suggest mental illness, although officers should not rule out other
potential causes such as reaction to narcotics or alcohol, or temporary emotional
disturban ces motivated by the situation. Officers should evaluate the following
symptomatic behaviors in the total context of the situation when making judgments about
an individual’s mental state and need for intervention, absent the commission of a crime:
1. Degr ee of Reactions
Mentally ill persons may show signs of strong and unrelenting fear of persons,
places or things. The fear of people or crowds, for example, may make the
individual extremely reclusive or aggressive without apparent provocation.
2. Appropria teness of Behavior
An individual who demonstrates extremely inappropriate behavior for a given
context may be emotionally ill. For example, a motorist who vents his frustration
in a traffic jam by physically attacking another motorist may be emotionally
unstable.
3. Extreme Rigidity or Inflexibility
University of California, San Francisco
Police Department General Orders
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Emotionally ill persons may be easily frustrated in new or unforeseen
circumstances and may demonstrate inappropriate or aggressive behavior in
dealing with the situation.
4. In addition to the above, a mentally ill person may exhibit one or more of the
following characteristics:
a. Abnormal memory loss related to such common facts as name and home
address (although this may be a sign of other physical ailments such as a
brain injury or Alzheimer’s disease)
b. Delusions, belief in a thought or idea that is false (e.g., “I am Jesus” or
delusions of grandeur) or paranoid delusions (“Everyone is out to get
me.”)
c. Hallucinations of any of the five senses (e.g., hearing voices commanding
the person to act, feeling on e’s skin crawl, smelling strange odors)
d. The belief that one suffers from extraordinary physical maladies that are
not possible, such as persons who are convinced that their heart has
stopped beating for extended periods of time
e. Extreme fright or depr ession.
B. Determining Danger
Not all mentally ill persons are dangerous, while some may represent danger only under
certain circumstances or conditions. Officers may use several indicators to determine
whether an apparently mentally ill person represents an immediate or potential danger to
himself, the officer or others. These include the following:
1. Availability of weapons to the suspect
2. Statements by the person that suggest to the officer the individual is prepared to
commit a violent or dangerous act. Such comments may range from subtle
innuendos to direct threats that, when taken in conjunction with other information,
paint a more complete picture of the potential for violence.
3. A personal history that reflects prior violence under sim ilar or related
circumstances. (The person’s history may be known to the officer, or family,
friends, or neighbors that may be able to provide such pertinent information.)
4. Failure to act prior to arrival of the officer does not guarantee that there is n o
danger, but it does in itself tend to diminish the potential for danger.
5. The amount of control that the person demonstrates is significant, particularly the
amount of physical control over emotions of rage, anger, fright or agitation. Signs
of a lack of control include extreme agitation, inability to sit still or communicate
effectively, wide eyes and rambling thoughts and speech. Clutching one’s self or
other objects to maintain control, begging to be left alone or offering frantic
assurances that one is all right may also suggest that the individual is close to
losing control.
6. The volatility of the environment is a particularly relevant factor that officers
must evaluate. Agitators that may affect the person or a particularly combustible
environmen t that may incite