Embedding Mental Health Clinicians in University Police Departments

Abstract This study sought to delineate the interest and utility of having mental health clinicians embedded within college/university police departments to help them deal with student issues. An electronic survey was generated, and commanders from 200 collegiate institutions were invited to participate. A total of 44 (22%) provided completed surveys. The majority (68%) were interested in having a clinician on staff to help them deal with students, especially at night. Difficulty obtaining funding was noted to be a primary barrier. The most commonly cited student mental health situations for which officers are often involved with were suicidal ideation/behaviors (93%), alcohol/drug use (91%), self-harm (88%), anxiety/panic (86%) and depression (77%). Nearly three out of four respondents noted that their officers are often involved with student mental health hospitalizations. Though 64% of respondents reported being overwhelmed at times by student mental health needs, paradoxically only 5.5 hours of annual campus police training was devoted to this topic. Embedding clinicians within various components of college/university campuses is becoming widespread, and there appears to be utility in placing them in police departments.