During the 17th to the 21st October 2016 representatives of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) and Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence attended a certified 40- hour Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) course in Orlando Florida. Constable Nichola Kennedy, Constable Georgio Chambers and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Anya Malcolm were among 35 participants represented at the training.
CIT is an effective law enforcement response program designed for police and first responders who handle crisis calls involving people with mental illness including those with co-occurring substance use disorders. CIT also emphasizes a partnership between law enforcement, the mental health and substance abuse treatment system and consumers of mental health services and their families.
As part of the training various topics were discussed by the presenter including: Overview of Mental Illness, Psychotropic medication Made Simple, Developmental Disabilities, Autism and Law Enforcement, Assessment of Behavioural Disorders with Dementia and many more.
“The primary goal behind this training is to have the attendees train other officers and first responders in order to provide them with an enhanced understanding of mental disorders and their symptoms and to help to improve basic crisis communication skills in a way that will make officers confident when intervening with persons with mental disorders. A special thank you goes out to the Deputy Governor’s office for sponsoring this training”
, stated Dr. Alicia Malcolm, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence.
Deputy Governor, Anya Williams added;
“As a part of our mandate to promote and enhance training and capacity building across government, the Office of the Deputy Governor is pleased to have funded this program under the Professional and Development Fund. As the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence and the Police seeks to improve its capabilities to address these critical areas in the Turks and Caicos Islands, this training will help to provide these officers and departments with the skills necessary to address the ongoing challenges that they face in this area.”
