G.O. 5.06 - Mentally Ill and Homeless Individuals

I. Purpose

• Establishes department-wide guidance for handling persons who, because of mental illness, may endanger themselves/others or are unable to meet basic needs.
• Ensures responses are protective, lawful, and geared toward treatment rather than criminalization.
• Applies equally to contacts with homeless people when mental-health or basic-need issues are present.
• Emphasizes that the order is an internal administrative standard; violations may lead to departmental discipline but do not create a higher civil-liability standard in court.

II. Policy Foundation

• Mental illness and homelessness are not crimes; police intervention is not automatically justified.
• Many individuals with mental illness function safely without police involvement.
• When intervention is necessary, primary mission is protection of all parties and linkage to services, not punitive action.

III. Key Definitions

• Mentally Ill Individual
  • Has a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory.
  • Disorder must grossly impair judgment, behavior, reality recognition, or ability to meet life’s ordinary demands.
• Homeless Individual
  • Lacks a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence OR primary nighttime stay is:
    • A supervised shelter (public or private) providing temporary living accommodation.
    • A private place not designed or ordinarily used for sleeping.

IV. Procedures for Mentally Ill Individuals

A. Protective Custody (CGS $17a\text{-}503$)

• Officers may take a person into protective custody when they have reasonable cause to believe the individual:
  1. Is mentally ill AND
  2. Poses danger to self/others OR is gravely disabled, requiring immediate care.
• Custody goal = transport to an appropriate medical facility, not the jail/prisoner ward.
• Officer must complete a written Emergency Examination Request left with the receiving hospital.

B. Recognizing Abnormal Behavior

• Officers are not required to diagnose; they must recognize potentially dangerous/destructive behaviors.
• Helpful background steps: • Ask relatives, friends, neighbors, dispatch databases for history. • Observe for significant behavior changes:
  • “…not himself/herself” per bystanders.
  • Self-harm or threats toward others.
  • Withdrawal, self-talk, catatonia.
  • Intense, irrational fear (e.g., crowds).
  • Hallucinations: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory.
  • Delusions/grandiosity vs. extreme worthlessness.
  • Memory gaps, disorientation to person/place/time.
• High-risk behavioral categories most often encountered:
  1. Psychopathic personality
  2. Alcohol addiction
  3. Drug addiction
  4. Sex offenses
  5. Cognitive impairments (intellectual disabilities)
  6. Age-related mental disorders (e.g., dementia)
• When in doubt, summon a supervisor.
  • Supervisor decides if individual is a “person requiring treatment.”
  • If transport is ordered, the original observing officer conveys.
• Documentation Required:
  • Incident Report (or CAD entry) for every encounter.

C. On-Scene Management Guidelines

1. De-escalation first: Turn off lights/sirens, disperse crowds, maintain a calm voice.
2. Move slowly, offer reassurance: “We’re here to help; you’ll get appropriate care.”
3. Avoid trigger topics; redirect to grounding conversation (time, weather, shared reality).
4. Be truthful—deception can precipitate distrust or aggression.
5. Reference General Order 7.06 (Crisis Intervention Team) for detailed CIT tactics.

D. Accessing Community Mental-Health Resources

• Dispatch Center maintains an updated referral list. Key numbers:
  • $211$ / Infoline (statewide crisis & referral).
  • CT Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services.
  • W.W. Backus Hospital (local ER & psych services).
  • Alzheimer’s Safe Return $1\text{-}800\text{-}272\text{-}3900$.
  • Southeastern Mental Health Authority.

E. Court-Ordered Admissions

• Courts may issue an order when probable cause shows a person with “psychiatric disabilities” is dangerous or gravely disabled.
• Officer responsibilities:
  • Take subject into protective custody under authority of the court document.
  • Transport directly to named general hospital for examination (no jail booking).
  • File Incident Report and leave paperwork with hospital.

V. Homeless Persons Procedures

A. Voluntary Contact & Referral

• Officers may approach at any time to offer information on shelters/services—even absent criminal activity.
• Homeless individuals may refuse and walk away; contact is purely voluntary.
• Purpose: proactive, humanitarian referral—not enforcement.

B. Transporting to Shelters

• Permitted only with the person’s consent.
• Mandatory weapons search prior to vehicle entry for safety.
• Comply with shelter’s intake rules; record intake worker’s name in the report.

C. Arrest Considerations

• All arrests follow standard law & policy.
• For misdemeanor violations (e.g., panhandling) where public safety is not threatened, officers are encouraged to prefer referral over arrest—contingent on the individual’s consent.
• Final discretion to arrest rests with the officer.

VI. Training Requirements

• Basic Academy: All recruits receive instruction on interactions with persons who have:
  • Mental or physical disabilities.
  • Deafness, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind conditions.
• In-Service / Review Training: Continuing education in the above areas as mandated by POSTC.

VII. Ethical, Legal, & Practical Implications

• Balances societal obligation to protect vulnerable populations with constitutional limits on seizure.
• Reinforces least-restrictive means philosophy: treatment over incarceration.
• Encourages CIT principles: empathy, de-escalation, voluntary compliance.
• Recognizes the overlap of mental illness, homelessness, and substance use; tailors response to individual needs.
• Promotes community trust by avoiding unnecessary criminalization and respecting autonomy.

VIII. Documentation Checklist

• Incident/CAD Report (every encounter).
• Written Emergency Examination Request (when transporting under $17a\text{-}503$).
• Name of shelter intake worker (for homeless transports).
• Note any use of force, de-escalation tactics, or referrals made.

IX. Quick-Reference Officer Flowchart (Text)

1. Observe abnormal/dangerous behavior.
2. Assess: immediate danger? reasonable cause of mental illness?
   • YES → Protective custody under $17a\text{-}503$, hospital transport.
   • NO → Offer services, document, disengage if safe.
3. Homeless but not dangerous/criminal?
   • Offer shelter referral; transport if accepted.
4. Court order in hand?
   • Custody & hospital exam per order.
5. Always document, always prioritize de-escalation.