The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service
Abstract Drawing upon seven years of police calls for service data (2014–2020), this study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI) using a Bayesian Structural Time Series. The findings revealed that PwPMI calls did not increase im...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Crime Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00157-6 |
| _version_ | 1819148615365427200 |
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| author | Jacek Koziarski |
| author_facet | Jacek Koziarski |
| author_sort | Jacek Koziarski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Drawing upon seven years of police calls for service data (2014–2020), this study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI) using a Bayesian Structural Time Series. The findings revealed that PwPMI calls did not increase immediately after the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Instead, a sustained increase in PwPMI calls was identified in August 2020 that later became statistically significant in October 2020. Ultimately, the analysis revealed a 22% increase in PwPMI calls during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected had the pandemic not taken place. The delayed effect of the pandemic on such calls points to a need for policymakers to prioritize widely accessible mental health care that can be deployed early during public health emergencies thus potentially mitigating or eliminating the need for increased police intervention, as was the case here. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:48:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6cd334f4a1c648599f90a9e1bb4126c9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2193-7680 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:48:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Crime Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-6cd334f4a1c648599f90a9e1bb4126c92022-12-21T18:23:43ZengBMCCrime Science2193-76802021-10-011011710.1186/s40163-021-00157-6The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police serviceJacek Koziarski0Department of Sociology, University of Western OntarioAbstract Drawing upon seven years of police calls for service data (2014–2020), this study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI) using a Bayesian Structural Time Series. The findings revealed that PwPMI calls did not increase immediately after the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Instead, a sustained increase in PwPMI calls was identified in August 2020 that later became statistically significant in October 2020. Ultimately, the analysis revealed a 22% increase in PwPMI calls during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected had the pandemic not taken place. The delayed effect of the pandemic on such calls points to a need for policymakers to prioritize widely accessible mental health care that can be deployed early during public health emergencies thus potentially mitigating or eliminating the need for increased police intervention, as was the case here.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00157-6PoliceMental HealthCOVID-19Bayesian Structural Time Series |
| spellingShingle | Jacek Koziarski The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service Crime Science Police Mental Health COVID-19 Bayesian Structural Time Series |
| title | The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| title_full | The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| title_fullStr | The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| title_short | The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| title_sort | effect of the covid 19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service |
| topic | Police Mental Health COVID-19 Bayesian Structural Time Series |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00157-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jacekkoziarski theeffectofthecovid19pandemiconmentalhealthcallsforpoliceservice AT jacekkoziarski effectofthecovid19pandemiconmentalhealthcallsforpoliceservice |