title: Greek police officers' attitudes towards the mentally ill.
abstract: The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and their shift into the community lead the police to play an important role in the management of acute psychiatric states. This study examines the attitudes of the Greek police towards the mentally ill, and the problems that arise during the transfer of mentally ill people to psychiatric emergency departments. Results highlight policemen misperceptions, and the difficulties encountered during transport procedures, which may be attributed to insufficient knowledge about mental illness and lack of training, respectively. Furthermore, this article discusses the need for police educational intervention, and the formation of specialized teams to improve the handling of mentally ill in crisis situations.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Hospital of Attika Dafni, Athens, Greece. lilian4@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Psarra
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sestrini
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Santa
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petsas
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerontas
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garnetas
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kontis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires