[Goose]

although it's true that the average social worker or psychologist isn't trained to handle an aggressive suicidal drunk, i'm not sure how that's relevant. we're talking about a specialty: professionals trained to handle - de-escalate if possible - mental health and substance crises. can be social workers, psychologists, psych techs, police or a combination. there are even a few communities where a dedicated team of police has special training in mental health issues. not the average social worker and not the average policeman with a gun and little or no training in mental health and de-escalation.

While we risk being off topic, I think the latter approach you mention has lots of merit. Unfortunately, a cop with little or no training in handling these types of situations is at a great disadvantage. Equally, even a specially trained social worker is at a disadvantage if violence breaks out that they are not trained to deal with. Anybody showing up in these situations is at risk, and there is no way to know apriori what you are dealing with. Specially trained personnel are the answer. Getting enough of them will be the problem, but it is certainly the way to go IMHO.

[Goose]

although it's true that the average social worker or psychologist isn't trained to handle an aggressive suicidal drunk, i'm not sure how that's relevant. we're talking about a specialty: professionals trained to handle - de-escalate if possible - mental health and substance crises. can be social workers, psychologists, psych techs, police or a combination. there are even a few communities where a dedicated team of police has special training in mental health issues. not the average social worker and not the average policeman with a gun and little or no training in mental health and de-escalation.

While we risk being off topic, I think the latter approach you mention has lots of merit. Unfortunately, a cop with little or no training in handling these types of situations is at a great disadvantage. Equally, even a specially trained social worker is at a disadvantage if violence breaks out that they are not trained to deal with. Anybody showing up in these situations is at risk, and there is no way to know apriori what you are dealing with. Specially trained personnel are the answer. Getting enough of them will be the problem, but it is certainly the way to go IMHO.