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

  • Allegion, Comfort Technologies Implement Mobile Credentials at the Artisan Apartment Homes in Florida

    Artisan Apartment Homes, a luxury apartment complex in Dunedin, Florida, recently transitioned from mechanical keys to electronic locks and centralized system software with support from Allegion US, a leading provider of security solutions, technology and services, and Florida-based Comfort Technologies, which specializes in deploying multifamily access control, IoT devices and software management solutions. Read Now

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

New Products

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”