Setting Up of a Behavioral Science Unit in a Police Department Research Paper

Introduction

Thompson (2001) says that several crimes are committed on a day-to-day basis. Some crimes can be of great harm to the community and to the society in general. These crimes can be committed by people of sound mind (sane) or by people with mental disabilities. There is need to establish the mental state of the persons that have committed the crimes. This is done through evaluation carried out by mental health professionals. This can help police institutions to determine if you can take a person who has committed a crime to a criminal institution (jail) or to a mental system. This helps in curbing the rising cases of crime in our society. This has led to the need for establishing a behavioral science unit (BSU) in any police department according to Thompson (2001).

There are several steps and requirements to be followed in the creation of a BSU unit. There should be specific objectives for setting up of such a unit. These objectives should help one to meet the purpose of being a police officer which involves protecting every member of the society with or without a mental disability from harming themselves or others.

These objectives are

• To examine a line between the people who have committed the crimes if they are mentally fit or unfit this involves so much mental health evaluation so that the police can see if they will assign that person to a mental health system or to a criminal system, in this case, a jail.
• The police department should be able to fulfill its aim of protecting the welfare of the community and at the same time protect those that are disabled in the society from harming themselves and others.

Requirements of a BSU

1. There should be mental health professionals who should evaluate the people brought to the police system the police department can have a unit for examining the people who have committed a crime. These professionals can be police officers who are trained specifically as psychiatrists to carry out this evaluation.
2. The police department can also liaise with the emergency community health system personnel that can be able to work with them as part of community service. The police department can also hire professional health providers so that they can provide them with onsite or offsite assistance.
3. The other requirement is a good information system that can process and keep data on the offenses, offenders and also those who were offended. This can help the police department in future references.
4. The police department should provide efficient transport and security to the offenders, the police officers themselves and the mental health personnel.
5. If it can be possible, the police department can give fully equipped mental health facilities where the offenders can receive treatment or their mental conditions stabilized.
6. Another alternative is that a police department can liaise with mental hospitals which have good facilities where the patients can be taken to for evaluation.

The mental health service professionals should be compassionate, confidential and have a proof of identity says Martin (1995). In recruitment of these professionals, they should be both physically and psychologically fit. They should be able to meet the above-stated objectives. These people should be compassionate and dedicated so that they can be able to work full-time and whenever duty calls.

According to Martin (1995), the mental health professionals should be trained to offer services in the following areas. The services these mental health professionals will offer include informal and formal ones. They can be trained to provide the following services and this can be demonstrated practically by involving them whenever a case has occurred. They are also trained in hypnotizing people who have committed crimes so that they can be able to get some information that can aid them in an investigation. Hypnosis assists the memory of a person in recalling some information since memory is not perfect.

They should also be trained in carrying out psychological autopsy when they are trying to establish some details of life concerning a person. They should also be trained to offer professional psychological support services to the police. This will enable them to utilize the skills that they have acquired in their learning. This person should be physically fit and fast. This is to make them act fast in case of emergencies. They should also be trained on legal and ethical issues concerning forensic studies in police cases.

The informal ones include

• Calming the mental person down.
• They can also take the person to a hospital or jail. Martin (1995) says that they can be taken to jail, where they are given a mercy booking. This involves them being taken to a mental hospital for evaluation and it is evaluated if they should serve a term in jail or they should be criminalized and sent to jail.

The formal ones include

1. The mental personnel can also help in prevention of mental deterioration of the patient. They can also be involved in stabilizing the mental condition of the offenders.
2. They can also provide outpatient facilities in case they have a system at the police department. This helps in monitoring the offenders and gives them protection.
3. They should also be able to manage them when they are in a crisis or in case of a disaster.
4. They should also be able to ascertain the mental state of the offender and if that person should be arrested or taken to a mental hospital.

This can be carried out easily if certain units are designed within the police department can be established.

These units include

1. Offsite unit. This unit is usually set within the police department. Here the mental health personnel can analyze the patients and evaluate them. This unit is composed of the stabilization unit where the mental condition of an offender is stabilized.
2. On-site unit. This unit is usually set up where a crime has occurred. The offender is calmed down and the mental health personnel prevents any further mental deterioration. it can be used in training of the mental health professional personnel.
3. In-house unit. This occurs within the police department. Here the patient’s mental condition is checked and evaluated to see if they can be sent to jail or to prison.
4. Contracts unit involves giving out contracts to psychiatrists who can be hired or working with local emergency mental health personnel.
5. Transport unit. There should be ample transport provided by the police to the mental health personnel and the offenders.
6. Security unit. The police should provide everyone with security; this prevents the mentally affected persons from hurting themselves and others.

Conclusion

Although most people have insisted that all offenders should be taken to jail, Thompson (2001) says that it is unfair to do so without carrying out mental evaluation. The justice system of any country should work in specific ways such that it can achieve its purpose; being just to all and protecting all its citizens.

References

1. Martin, K. I, Ellen, M. S. Police Psychology in the 21st Century.1, 45-100.
2. Thompson, R.A. The Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.1, 1186, 20-65.