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Careers: Police/suicide procedure

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Expert: - 5/20/2011


Question
this is simply for a story i'm writing.
i was curious as to what the procedure is if a man is stopped from committing suicide by acquaintances, and these acquaintances call the cops for help although he's no longer really a harm. would the cops simply leave him be or send him to a therapist or what?
if i could get a detailed explanation i'd appreciate it. thank you for your time.

Answer
Ingrid,

The first thing that you need to learn is that there is no "procedure".  There are over a million police officers in this country and no two calls are the same.  So a call like this happening on Monday in Louisiana could be handled completely different than a call on Tuesday in Texas.

However if it was a legitimate suicide attempt (not just some drunk yelling that he is going to commit suicide) there are laws in most states that allow the police to take the person into custody and transport him to the nearest medical facility.  Would that happen?  Depends on the situation and the legitimacy of the threat.

The one thing that I can tell you for sure is that they would not "send for a therapist".  There are no therapists on call who magically appear at 3am to handle situations like this  Its always the police that have to make these judgements.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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