The Link Between Police Violence And The Mental Health Crisis

Law Enforcement & The Mental Health Crisis

Peter John S. Gumacal Faculty of Arts, University of Regina Dr. Jeffery Walters April 4, 2024.

Police violence and police misconduct have resulted in increased numbers of individuals suffering from mental illness. This essay will cover the link between police violence and how trauma due to police violence can cause a decline in one's mental health. Furthermore, eight factors will be presented detailing how police-related violence differs from other types of violence. Additionally, racism within law enforcement and the effect police racism has on the community. Furthermore, tactics and beliefs held by law enforcement about individuals in crisis will be looked at. In addition, the steps

Stress can muddle an individual's sense of purpose, and negatively affect their self-esteem, which can lead to mental health difficulties. Furthermore, these factors play a prominent role in theories relating to a range of diverse mental health conditions. Additionally, the common understanding is that “trauma spurs biological or psychological changes that manifest over time as psychiatric symptoms, particularly when the trauma is sexually or physically violent” (DeVylder et al., 2020). From this understanding, police violence as a possible factor in the decline of an individual's mental health. Furthermore, (DeVylder et al., 2020) presented two assumptions on how police violence can be linked to mental health conditions: those being “violence and trauma are associated with elevated risk for a broad range of mental health symptoms and the contribution to risk may vary not only by severity of exposure, but also by type of exposure.” (DeVylder et al., 2020). Studies have found a correlation between exposure to police violence and mental health conditions. Furthermore, research conducted on the community level yielded data that individuals living in neighborhoods where police injustice such as “stop and

The third factor is that individuals who have experienced police violence have a limited amount of options in order to seek justice. Furthermore, it is harder to find evidence as police officers have the legal right to “intervene in other crimes of violence (e.g., sexual assault, physical assault), making it much more difficult to prove that the violence was unjustly or excessively delivered” (DeVylder et al., 2020). In addition, the fourth factor says law enforcement officers are unlikely to hold other members of the department accountable for their actions. This is due to how police culture looks down upon those who do not uphold their “code of silence”. The code of silence is an unspoken rule that after officers join they are part of the greater law enforcement family, and must protect that family at all costs. Additionally, officers who do want to hold their fellow officers accountable will find it difficult, if not impossible, to do so, as all levels of law enforcement are affected by the culture. The fifth reason is that people see the police as a safe and protective figure. If an individual is subjected to police violence,