Student Group Presents Work on Policing and Mental Health

In partnership with the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities, a team of criminology majors and minors are developing a plan to provide feedback on policing practices in Waterloo, Iowa with regard to best practices for working with citizens with mental health concerns. The project, guided by Dr. Karen Heimer, examines current policing policies and strategies that guide officers when they encounter citizens who are experiencing episodes of mental illness. The goal is to assess current approaches, research and review other research on best practices, and offer recommendations to help to improve police response.  All of the team members are Public Policy Center Undergraduate or Graduate Research Fellows.

On Wednesday, April 28, the team presented their work in a virtual setting to an audience of over 70 people. The recording of the presentation is below.

Research Team:

• Kaitlin Abshire
• Cecelia Bonilla
• Natalie Grodnitzky
• Omar Lopez
• Aurora Palmillas
• Anjali Puranam
• Myah Rhodes
• Alexandra Skores
• Konstadina Spanoudakis
• Antonio Woodard