Date of Conferral





Criminal Justice


Tony Gaskew


Law enforcement officers (LEOs) encounter unique challenges when responding to calls involving an emotionally disturbed person (EDP) in crisis. In these situations, the LEOs are not merely acting in a law enforcement capacity but also taking on the roles of mental health workers, social workers, and other community support services. Unfortunately, most LEOs lack clear direction and training to effectively serve this unique population, with the typical encounter resulting in the arrest of the EDP and often ensuing in a vicious circle of arrest, incarceration, and recidivism. This phenomenological qualitative study used the perceptions of active Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained LEOs to fill a gap in the literature by obtaining a better understanding of their perceived impact this training had on them. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi's methodological seven-stage framework, which is a descriptive method of analysis used to answer the epistemological research question of which portions of the training LEOs perceive to be the most useful in understanding how to interact with EDPs. This study utilized Bloom’s taxonomy, which is a pedagogical model of cognitive-thinking skills used to demonstrate that CIT training is effective by increasing LEOs’ knowledge and providing them skills they can use in responding to calls involving EDPs. The intended audience for this study is law enforcement leaders, mental health managers, and nongovernmental organizations. By educating these groups on the benefits of CIT training, it is hoped that social change will occur by their supporting the goal of full implementation for all LEOs across the state.