Collaboration with police officers within a partial hospital program.

After an incident of violence in an urban community mental health center, city police officers were hired to provide extra-duty coverage to one of its satellite programs. The boundaries between clinical and security functions were not clarified initially, leading to unclear expectations regarding roles and responsibilities when handling patient dyscontrol episodes. The relationship between the clinical staff and the police developed over the course of a year, in three distinct phases, into one that is mutually supportive and beneficial. This experience is described, with an aim of identifying the challenges and advantages of participating in this type of collaboration. A conceptual framework for this interprofessional system is presented.