An Analysis of the United States Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division's Mental Illness Training Program: Is There Room for Improvement?
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the training provided by the United States Secret Services Protective Intelligence Division (PID) to its recruits and special agents (SAs) to effectively conduct interviews with mentally ill individuals during protective intelligence (PI) investigations. These interviews are vital because they provide SAs with information to assess the risk of a subject's carrying out an attack against a Secret Service protectee. Responding to the 1960s' deinstitutionalization movement, which saw a rise in law enforcement interactions with individuals with mental illness, many agencies developed advanced mental illness training programs. The PID provides its recruits and SAs with 28 hours of mental illness and interview training, which may need to be revised given the importance of PI investigations involving mentally ill individuals. After analyzing the current PI training program, this thesis provides research and recommendations for effective mental illness training programs used by other law enforcement agencies, including the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), DEFUSE, CIT Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, and Mental Health First Aid. The study recommends incorporating specific elements from these training programs into the Secret Services PI training program to provide more comprehensive risk assessments of potential threats and unwanted outcomes against protectees when dealing with individuals with mental illness.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1212908
Entities
People
- William J. Elliott
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School