Survey Finds Americans Are Concerned About Mental Health and Want Public Safety Agencies to Improve Response to Mental Health Crises

Survey Finds Americans Are Concerned About Mental Health and Want Public Safety Agencies to Improve Response to Mental Health Crises

Rave Mobile Safety has recently released its 2021 Mental Health and Emergency Response Survey results. The findings show that Americans are concerned about mental health generally and want to see first responders, including 911 call takers, police, EMS and fire fighters, improve emergency response involving mental health crises.

To understand if Americans believe mental health is a pervasive issue and how first responders should respond to emergencies involving mental health, Rave Mobile Safety partnered with independent research firm Researchscape to survey more than 1,000 American adults nationally in April 2021.

The key findings of the survey indicate that:

  • Americans are concerned about mental health—and that level of concern has increased over the past year.
  • The majority of respondents believe public safety agencies need to make improvements to better respond to emergencies involving mental health crises.
  • Respondents believe there are multiple ways public safety agencies can increase public confidence in their response. Areas of improvement include training in mental health response for first responders, dispatching mental health professionals with first responders and access to mental health histories for 9-1-1 calls.
  • Respondents are concerned that mental health crises will impact their safety as we return to normalcy post-pandemic.

Concern for Mental Health in America                           
Almost all (94%) respondents are concerned about the state of mental health of Americans, and one in three respondents are extremely concerned. That worry has grown one year into the pandemic; two-thirds of respondents say they are more concerned about the state of public mental health now than they were this time last year.

The survey findings also show that the impact of mental health is a personal issue for many—nearly half (49%) of respondents say they or someone close to them has experienced a mental health crisis. To help responders know more before they appear on scene, 79% of respondents are completely or very willing to provide first responders with information on their mental health history or that of their loved ones.

Respondents are also concerned about the state of mental health as society reopens. Roughly half of respondents are extremely or very concerned about mental health among K-12 students returning to schools (52%), college students returning to campuses (52%), individuals returning to public spaces (51%) and employees returning to workplaces (49%).

First Responders and Emergencies Involving Mental Health
While respondents are fairly confident in first responders’ ability to respond to mental health crises, 33% expressed some level of distrust that their local police would provide the right response. Eighty-six percent of respondents completely or somewhat agree that those tasked with public safety need to make improvements to better respond to mental health crises.

Respondents expressed the collaboration of first responders with mental health professionals as a desired approach. Eighty percent of respondents said first responders and mental health professionals together are best suited to respond to emergency situations involving mental health crises. Ninety percent of respondents completely or somewhat agree that 911 call centers should have the ability to dispatch mental health professionals as well as police, fire and/or EMS services.

“Mental health calls are some of the most challenging calls for police response. Police are often the first ones on the scene. This places a major burden on police, asking them to respond to situations that others are often better equipped to address,” said Harold Pollack, Helen Ross Professor at the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and co-director of the University’s Health Lab. “Estimates suggest that upwards of 80 percent of individuals with mental illness have an encounter with law enforcement at some point in their lives. We need to create systems that better serve these individuals—in prevention, in crisis response and in follow-up to meet people’s long-term needs.”

“The last year has brought mental health to the forefront of the national conversation in a new way—and it’s clear that people are concerned about the impact poor mental health will have on themselves, their loved ones and society as a whole,” said Alexa James, CEO, National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago. “We need to do better in creating a system where 9-1-1 is not the only option during a mental health crisis, and where first responders have the skills to manage these calls with a healing focused lens. Cities like Chicago are emerging as leaders in this effort, and we hope to see those practices spread nationwide.”

“The issue of effective emergency response to those with mental health issues is of great importance to the 911 industry,” said Brian Fontes, CEO, National Emergency Number Association (NENA). “In addition to training and awareness, technology can play a key role in ensuring telecommunicators have the information and tools they need to quickly identify and properly handle mental health related calls.”

Featured

  • AI Is Now the Leading Cybersecurity Concern for Security, IT Leaders

    Arctic Wolf recently published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2025 Trends Report, offering insights from a global survey of more than 1,200 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers across 15 countries. Conducted by Sapio Research, the report captures the realities, risks, and readiness strategies shaping the modern security landscape. Read Now

  • Analysis of AI Tools Shows 85 Percent Have Been Breached

    AI tools are becoming essential to modern work, but their fast, unmonitored adoption is creating a new kind of security risk. Recent surveys reveal a clear trend – employees are rapidly adopting consumer-facing AI tools without employer approval, IT oversight, or any clear security policies. According to Cybernews Business Digital Index, nearly 90% of analyzed AI tools have been exposed to data breaches, putting businesses at severe risk. Read Now

  • Software Vulnerabilities Surged 61 Percent in 2024, According to New Report

    Action1, a provider of autonomous endpoint management (AEM) solutions, today released its 2025 Software Vulnerability Ratings Report, revealing a 61% year-over-year surge in discovered software vulnerabilities and a 96% spike in exploited vulnerabilities throughout 2024, amid an increasingly aggressive threat landscape. Read Now

  • Motorola Solutions Named Official Safety Technology Supplier of the Ryder Cup through 2027

    Motorola Solutions has today been named the Official Safety Technology Supplier of the 2025 and 2027 Ryder Cup, professional golf’s renowned biennial team competition between the United States and Europe. Read Now

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

New Products

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.