POST Exam Practice Questions

Read the following passage:

Officers responding to calls involving individuals in mental health crisis should approach the situation differently than a standard law enforcement response. Research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that individuals in acute psychiatric crisis are significantly more likely to de-escalate when officers slow the pace of the encounter, reduce external stimuli where possible, and use calm, non-threatening verbal communication.

Many police departments have implemented Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, a 40-hour program that provides officers with practical skills for recognizing symptoms of mental illness and communicating effectively with individuals in crisis. Studies have shown that officers who receive CIT training are more likely to resolve mental health calls without use of force and more likely to connect individuals with appropriate mental health services rather than making arrests.

Despite the availability of CIT training, participation rates vary widely across departments. A 2022 survey found that fewer than 30 percent of patrol officers in departments with populations over 100,000 had received any form of CIT training. Department leadership cited budget constraints, shift scheduling conflicts, and a lack of perceived urgency as the primary barriers to broader implementation.