Processes of Co-Response Crisis Mental Health Models: A Scoping Review

Objective: Police services assume the role of first responders for mental health crisis situations. Interactions between police and individuals experiencing mental health crises are insufficiently lacking in mental health support and can result in police violence or other harm to the person in crisis. Advances in mental health and police reform has produced alternative response models such as the co-response model (i.e., crisis response teams, mobile crisis, crisis outreach). A co-response model is any crisis response model that includes both police officers and trained mental health crisis responders. This scoping review synthesizes knowledge on co-response models and presents key processes that facilitate this form of alternative crisis mental health response. Method: Covidence software was used by two independent reviewers to search eleven databases with terms including “co-response,” “police partnerships,” and “crisis response team.” These reviewers screened 2690 titles and abstracts and 109 full-texts to include 76 articles. Nine independent coders employed thematic content analysis. Results: Three themes and seven sub-themes were determined as key processes of co-response. Decriminalizing mental health involves re-evaluating the role of police and reducing reliance on police in crisis mental health response. Interprofessional collaboration features partnerships between existing services, unifying strategies, and establishing multidisciplinary teams. A piloting phase permits monitoring and evaluation and highlights the diversity of co-response models. Discussion: Co-response crisis mental health models are increasingly common, heterogeneous in design and operation, and built upon existing infrastructure. Future inquiries could include trauma-informed care and the evaluation of non-police crisis mental health responses.