CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2016, Vol. 43, No. 4, April 2016, 459–482. DOI: 10.1177/0093854815606762 © 2015 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology 459 POLICE DECISION-MAKING IN THE GRAY ZONE The Dynamics of Police–Citizen Encounters With Mentally Ill Persons JENNIFER L. SCHULENBERG University of Waterloo Research finds mentally ill persons have higher rates of police contacts, arrests, and criminal charges for minor offenses and noncriminal behavior. It remains unclear whether the decision-making process and factors affecting discretion reflect a pro- cedural bias that criminalizes the mentally ill. Using observational data from a Canadian police service, the findings suggest higher odds for criminal charges with serious offenses, males, older citizens, a prior criminal record, being under the influ- ence of alcohol or drugs, and being uncooperative with requests for information and compliance. The odds of a citation are higher for proactive calls, more serious offenses, older citizens, mentally ill persons, those under the influence, or with a disrespectful demeanor. The overall findings suggest an indirect procedural bias exists due to situational constraints, a dis- juncture between policy and police culture, and limited mental health resources that lead to response strategies that contribute to criminalization of the mentally ill. Keywords: police decision-making; police discretion; mental health; policing strategies; police practice; criminalization of the mentally ill A growing concern is the fact that persons with a mental illness (PMI) are more likely to be victims than offenders, but they have higher rates of police contact, arrests, and criminal charges for minor offenses when compared with the general population (Heslop, Stitt, & Hoch, 2013). Complicating this further is that we continue to lack consensus on whether police decision-making practices contribute to the criminalization of mentally ill persons’ behavior (Godfredson, Thomas, Ogloff, & Luebbers, 2011; Lamb, Weinberger, & DeCuir, 2002; Novak & Engel, 2005) or if caution should be exercised as this conclusion is not necessarily generalizable (Brown, Novak, & Frank, 2009; Teplin, 2000; Watson, Morabito, Draine, & Ottati, 2008). Health Canada estimates that one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2014). Yet there is little Canadian research on police interactions with the mental health AUTHOR’S NOTE: This research was supported in part by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jennifer L. Schulenberg, Department of Sociology and Legal Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada; e-mail: jlschule@uwaterloo.ca. 606762CJB XX X 10.1177/0093854815606762Criminal Justice And BehaviorSchulenberg / POLICING MENTALLY ILL PERSONS research-article 2015 at UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO on February 25, 2016 cjb.sagepub.com Downloaded from