Shoreline, Washington
RADAR: Improving Police Encounters With Individuals With Mental Health Issues or Cognitive/Intellectual Deficits
Project Overview
Although residents of the City of Shoreline make up only 10.2 percent of the population area policed by the greater Kings County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), approximately 15 percent of the entire county’s mental health complaints and suicide attempt calls come from Shoreline. This SPI developed the Response Awareness, De-Escalation, and Referral (RADAR) effort that was aimed to institutionalize department-wide and regional information sharing about community members with behavioral health issues or developmental disabilities (BH/DD) who may be at increased risk of violence or use of force; and offer opportunities for outreach and connection to services and resources through a mental health “navigator.”
Methods and Findings
Research Design
A quasiexperimental design based on propensity score matching (PSM) methods in which RADAR response plan recipients would be matched with similarly-situated people in a comparison jurisdiction to compare outcomes accompanied by a process evaluation.
Findings
- RADAR had a positive influence on Shoreline Police Department’s culture in terms of changing attitudes and responses to people with BH/DD.
- The evaluation did not find significant effects on rates of mental health-related calls for service or incidents.
- Use of force was lower after RADAR was implemented, but this was not statistically significant.
