Police Training for Handling of Persons with Mental Illness
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef’s inquiry regarding police training for recognizing mental health presentations and the protocols followed during such encounters. Minister for Home Affairs Mr K Shanmugam explained that officers undergo a basic three-month course and a specialized Ground Response Force course to manage disputes and potential violence. The Singapore Police Force collaborates with the Institute of Mental Health and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to facilitate appropriate follow-up for these individuals. For cases involving no immediate danger, officers coordinate with the AIC, while individuals posing a threat to themselves or others may be arrested under the Mental Health Care and Treatment Act. This legal framework allows for the referral of persons of unsound mind to the Institute of Mental Health for professional medical assessment and treatment.
Transcript
19 Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Home Affairs how much training are Police officers given in recognising mental health presentations and what is their course of action if they encounter such cases in carrying out their duties.
The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): The Singapore Police Force (SPF) equips Police officers with the skills to handle their jobs effectively through various structured and customised training programmes.
All Police officers undergo a three-month Police Basic Officer Course when they first join the Force. During the course, officers are trained to handle different situations, including encounters with persons who show signs of mental illnesses.
After the basic three-month course, officers attend a customised course based on their vocation. Those deployed to patrol duties attend a three-month Neighbourhood Police Centre Ground Response Force (NPC GRF) course. During the course, they learn techniques in dealing with situations where there are disputes or violence, including taking control of the situation, preventing escalation of violence, rendering and requesting for medical assistance, investigating possible offences committed and providing the parties involved an avenue for conflict resolution. The training would involve officers having to deal with situations where they come across people with mental health conditions.
In addition to training, SPF works closely with agencies, such as the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), to manage persons who may have mental health conditions. When our frontline officers suspect that a person is suffering from mental health conditions but the person does not pose any danger to himself or others, they will liaise with AIC to follow up on the case.
In cases where our officers take the view that the person is of unsound mind and poses a danger either to himself or to someone else, Police officers may arrest him under the Mental Health Care and Treatment Act for referral to IMH for expert medical assessment.