Repeat Police Contacts with Persons With Mental Illness

What is it about?

Persons with mental illness are over-represented in the criminal justice system, and police frequently respond to situations involving mental illness or mental health crisis. This article examines a subset of justice-involved persons with mental illness who have repeated contacts with police officers. Previous work has alluded to this sub-population—often termed “frequent fliers”—but little research has empirically examined its size and nature. This study provides an easy-to-use method of identifying frequent fliers that is based on the amount of time elapsed between multiple mental-health-related contacts with police.

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Why is it important?

Identifying "frequent fliers" is a critical first step in directing mental health resources to those who need them. Addressing the needs of the "frequent flier" population promises to be a way of targeting limited resources for the most impact.