Police undergo training to deal with host of new challenges

BOSTON — With many high-profile cases of questionable police conduct, often magnified by viral videos, there has been a renewed focus on how officers are trained.

Around the Boston area, more officers are taking classes to learn how to deal with complex situations that, unfortunately, are becoming more common.

Just ask Haverhill police Lieutenant John Barbieri, who has been on the force for 23 years.

He said the opioid crisis has created new challenges for officers as it is something they didn’t see used to see very often.

“Same with autism,” Barbieri said. "Autism has clearly been on the rise.”

Most police academies don’t spend much time teaching officers how to deal with situations involving mental health related issues.

Now many veteran officers are taking a week-long class in Crisis Intervention Team training. They are learning how to de-escalate situations with people who are experiencing some form of mental illness or developmental disorder.

“Officers are learning a little about what it is like for folks with these illnesses, how it is a brain illness and what that means, and how it impacts someone’s capacity to function and respond,“explained Patty Contente, a social worker with the Somerville Police Department, said. She runs the training along with the state Department of Mental Health.

Contente estimates that 25 percent of calls for police now involve some type of mental health issue.

“What we are talking about with de-escalation is really integrating a lot of verbal de-escalation skills, understanding that folks who are impacted by mental illness can typically have a lower tolerance for stress, and can be agitated more quickly,” Contente said.

The goal is to avoid letting a situation get out of hand and further strain relations between the police and the community.

There’s a lot of role playing as social workers and other staff play agitated citizens who represent many of the scenarios officers now face.

Along the way, experts like Contente provide insight on how their approach could be refined.

“It’s so important because what we’re hearing, and unfortunately what gets highlighted in the press is the tragedies and negatives, and there’s definitely a lot of focus on the law enforcement response,” Contente said.  “It’s really important to know that officers and police departments are committed to looking for information and techniques.”

Barbieri said he’d like the public “to know that we are looking to get better, to get the training that we are able to get, and that we are here to help them.”

Dozens of states, and even some large cities like Chicago, now mandate de-escalation training.

It is still voluntary in Massachusetts, but Contente says that her sessions always fill up and more departments are reaching out to get their staff trained.

Cox Media Group