Florida is not immune to the trend being seen nationwide. In most counties of the state, the jail is the largest mental health care provider.

  • UCF Police training for mental illness response
  • Training will help officers handle complex situations
  • Nearly 2 million people with mental illness are arrested each year

That puts police officers on the front line of unpredictable situations.

Chief Richard Beary of the University of Central Florida Police Department admits the issue of mental illness is “huge.”

“You don’t have to look very far to see the disasters that have happened, and mental health seems to be one of those key ingredients in almost any major situation that happens in our country,” Chief Beary said.

The 75 sworn officers of the UCF Police Department are going through advanced training to learn best how to deal with individuals with mental illness.

“You have to have a plan that’s flexible, fluid, and you have to adjust to try to figure out what will work with that individual you’re working with at that particular moment,” Chief Beary said. “Training can never be static, it has to be continuously upgraded.”

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates nearly 2 million people with some kind of mental illness are arrested each year in the United States, and that more than 60 million American adults experience some kind of mental illness each year.

Eric Welch, Executive Director of NAMI Greater Orlando says mental illness does not discriminate, impacting people of all ages, races, and economic status.  

“Mental health condition can be anything from anxiety, to depression, to bipolar, to schizophrenia,” Welch said.

NAMI relies on training and awareness to help educate society about mental illness. Welch estimates since the beginning of 2018, his office in Orlando has taken more than 300 phone calls from people soliciting help for services.

That includes helping to train law enforcement how to deal with complex situations dealing with people with mental illness.

In training with law enforcement, officers are instructed on key things to look for, and how to best respond to each individual call. The most important aspect officers learn is active listening.

“Our main goal when we go out there is to help them,” said UCF Police Officer Melissa Guadagnino. She was named a 2017 Officer of the Year for her past work in Crisis Intervention Training. “Just be there for them, be a shoulder to them, be a place where they can get help.”