Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston, MA, USA.
School of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts-Lowell College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Lowell, MA, USA.
J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2021 Feb;28(1):72-82. doi: 10.1111/jpm.12704. Epub 2020 Nov 2.
WHAT IS KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT?: Police are often called on to respond to student mental health needs in schools. School nurses, who are part of interdisciplinary mental health teams, may collaborate with responding police officers. Currently, there are no reviews of the literature describing the use of police to respond to mental health crises in schools. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This systematic review found six articles addressing police response to student mental health needs in elementary and secondary schools. Articles primarily focused on the School Resource Officer programme; however, there was a lack of research on the effectiveness of this and other programmes in addressing the mental health needs of students. This paper highlights a significant gap in knowledge about how police are involved in responding to student mental health crises within schools. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Understanding how police respond to mental health crises on school campuses will help nurses serve in collaborative roles with responding officers. This study highlights gaps in research that need to be addressed for researchers and policymakers to best support students in crisis.
INTRODUCTION: Response to student mental health crises involves interdisciplinary school-community teams, which can include police officers. This paper presents the first systematic review of literature on how police address mental health in school settings. Results have implications for school nurses interacting with responding police.
QUESTION/AIM: How are police involved in responding to student mental health needs in elementary and secondary schools?
Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, six articles met criteria for inclusion in this review.
Two themes were identified: (1) descriptions of roles of police in schools and (2) studies presenting programmes or models of police engagement. The most common use of police in schools is through the School Resource Officer model.
There are very few studies examining police involvement in mental health response in schools and little data available on whether prevailing models are effective. We are therefore unable to ascertain what impact school police have in responding to mental health crises or the extent to which they interact with school nurses.
Understanding mental health crisis responses in schools can inform policy, practice, research and education for police and school providers, including nurses.
本研究旨在对警察在中小学处理学生心理健康问题的相关文献进行系统综述，以填补该领域研究的空白。
本研究采用 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses（PRISMA）框架，对六篇符合纳入标准的文献进行了综述。
本研究共识别出两个主题：（1）警察在学校中的角色描述；（2）介绍警察参与模式或方案的研究。学校中最常见的警察使用方式是通过学校资源警官模式。
目前，很少有研究考察警察在学校心理健康响应中的参与情况，也几乎没有关于现有模式是否有效的数据。因此，我们无法确定学校警察在应对心理健康危机方面的影响，也无法确定他们与学校护士的互动程度。
了解学校心理健康危机的应对措施可以为警察和学校提供者（包括护士）提供政策、实践、研究和教育方面的信息。
