Marshaling administrative data to study the prevalence of mental illness in assault on law enforcement cases.

A substantial body of literature has investigated many issues surrounding police encounters with persons with mental illness. This paper focuses on a specific type of encounter - individuals with mental illness charged with assaulting officers because of their behavior during a psychiatric crisis - and uses administrative data to examine its prevalence in one state. Results suggest that individuals with mental health histories comprise a small but meaningful percentage (c. 9%) of assault on law enforcement charges, and c. 10% of these charges have an offense date within 14 days of an emergency mental health custody order, increasing the likelihood that psychiatric symptoms influenced their behavior at the time of the offense. Further results describe different categories of relevant charges, charge classifications, final dispositions, and sentences. Results are discussed in the context of outcomes for persons with mental illness and law enforcement as well as the role and limitations of forensic mental health assessment in these cases. The paper concludes with a call for similar data collection across jurisdictions.