Instructional Goal
This online training introduces students to the laws and skills officers rely on during interactions with people who demonstrate emotional variance – those who deviate from standard, expected behaviors, due to mental disorder, substance abuse, or other issues. These interactions are a daily part of a law enforcement officer’s work, and often require quick decision making in crisis situations. Officers must balance enforcement of the criminal code and the mental health code, while evaluating the need for appropriate intervention. Officers must consider both the treatment needs of the individual and the law enforcement officer’s professional obligation to overall public safety.
The course also introduces students to general crisis intervention. Law enforcement officers must be prepared to initiate effective crisis intervention techniques to maintain control of crisis conflict situations and minimize danger to all persons. Students will learn a variety of skills to calm and control highly emotional individuals, and to defuse crisis conflict situations, to gather needed information under difficult circumstances, and to take appropriate law enforcement actions.
Performance Objectives
At the end of this unit of instruction, the student will be able to accomplish the following objectives as outlined in the lesson:
1. Define variant behavior and provide three causes of variant behavior.
2. Identify six procedures to investigate people who demonstrate variant behavior.
3. Identify three legal requirements regarding protective custody.
4. Identify two proper means to transport people taken into protective custody.
5. Define crisis conflict management.
6. Identify five safety procedures to employ on the way to a crisis conflict situation.
7. Identify thirteen safety procedures to employ at a crisis conflict situation.
8. Identify techniques to defuse high emotion situations and individuals, considering the potential psychological responses of victims of crime.
9. Identify the three key components of mediation.
