While being pro-club by nature I do not to belong to any club.

Sometimes the voices Lt. Ron Locke heard were saying good things: "You're so smart. You feel happy today. Everything's perfect and so are you." Other times, the voices were sinister. "Everything is hopeless. You should not even be on this earth, taking up space. Why don't you just end it all now?" And while the Sarasota County lieutenant was hearing the voices, he was also trying to take part in a mock job interview. 

One of the newest tools available to train law enforcement officers on Baker Act issues is a CD that replicates the experience of hearing voices. Locke, who had a chance to experience it first-hand, said the training is very graphic. 

"They have you listen to this CD, which has been authenticated as closely representing what it's like for a schizophrenic person who hears voices," Locke said. "And while you're listening to that, the instructor simulates a job interview. Or maybe they'll send you to the parking lot to write down license plate numbers." 

This simulation, he said, helps you understand why a Baker Act subject is saying things that don't make any sense. "It gives us some understanding of what they're going through." 

Locke, who represents the sheriff's office on Sarasota County's multi-discipline Crisis Intervention Committee, said Baker Act training is critical. Law enforcement initiates almost half of all involuntary exams, so educating cops is important. 

The numbers of Baker Act cases generally has kept pace with the growing population. In 2002, Florida had 99,772 cases of involuntary commitment; in 2006, that number rose to 120,506 (down slightly from 2005's high of 
122,206). 

Law enforcement officers typically do not have an extensive background in mental health. Yet some cops say they face potential Baker Act cases almost as often as actual arrests. So the training they receive on the job is important. 

Sgt. Scott Graham of the North Port Police Department said Baker Acting is "considered an option of last resort" 
because it deprives the person of their freedom. "Often the individual is beyond the capability of the family to manage." 

He agreed the ability to Baker Act someone puts a heavy burden on police, so law enforcement officers are held to a high standard in making these decisions. 

Candidates do get some training during the police academy. Capt. Steve Matosky of SCSO, who heads up the sheriff's training program and is also in charge of the county's Police Academy training through the Sarasota County Technical Institute, said recruits get a block of training on people with special needs, including not only Baker Act but also elderly, juveniles, and drug and alcohol abusers. 

Training week More detailed training is available after police leave the academy and are on the job. There is now a 40-hour course designed specifically for law enforcement officers. Matosky said in Sarasota County, the Crisis Intervention Team provides training to county and city law enforcement agencies. The class is typically offered twice a year. This April it will be held in North Port for the first time. 

Martha Lenderman is considered the top Florida expert on the Baker Act. She played a key role in legislative reform, drafted the state's regulations and helped prepare the forms cops use to evaluate Baker Act clients. She also helps teach the week-long course. 

"We do not expect police to be diagnosticians," Lenderman said. "So we have to teach them how to make these decisions. 

"Generally, they do a very good job deciding whether people meet the (Baker Act) criteria," she said. 

The 40-hour course gives officers a different perspective, according to Locke. They learn about conditions such as bipolar, schizophrenia, and substance abuse that can affect a person's mental health status. 

Officer John Hetteberg of the North Port Police Department had the week-long training a few years ago, including the 'voices' CD. 

"I came from Florida Highway Patrol," he said, "and they didn't have training on this beyond what you get in the academy. So this class really helped me understand what people are going through." The detailed explanations he received on mental health issues helped him make decisions in the field. 

"Now I understand better what people are going through," Hetteberg said. "We as a police force face Baker Act cases just about every day. Our goal is to try to get (patients) the help they need as soon as possible." 

"They also bring in 'consumers' -- people who have these conditions and who have been Baker Acted," Locke said. "They talk about what happened in dealing with police and what effect it had." 

Locke said getting that feedback is especially helpful because law enforcement is "pretty much done after the initial contact. This lets us follow up and find out, did it help?" 

Patients need help He said often Baker Act patients are combative, and in the past cops would just take them to jail. "Now, though, our job is to get them to a place where they can get help." 

Getting help for Baker Act patients was more of a challenge a few years go. Several area providers frequently said they had to hold patients more than 72 hours, just waiting for beds. Recently, though, efforts were made to provide more facilities and more space so Baker Act patients get prompt treatment. 

Andy Ritter, a spokesman for the Division of Children and Families in the Tampa area (which includes Sarasota) 
said, "Getting adequate capacity has been one of Secretary (Robert) Butterworth's main priorities. Two years ago, there was an average of 223 people on the waiting list across the state. That's now down to only 19." As of Feb. 
7, he said there were none waiting in Charlotte, DeSoto, Hendry or Sarasota counties. 

Even if a person has committed a crime, for safety reason police may take them for the mental health evaluation, rather than to jail, to get them help and to determine whether the subject had the mental capacity to form the necessary intent for the crime. 

Pam Meuniere, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Policy Coordinator for Sarasota County, said the 40-hour class includes communication techniques where cops learn to talk with suicidal or violent people. "They do role-playing. They learn communication skills and verbal stabilization. And they seem to get it. 

"That gives them a sense of what happens after they drop the patient off," Meuniere said. 

Throughout Sarasota County more than 250 officers have had the week-long course. It includes site visits to the jail, crisis and addiction centers. 

Charlotte offers training Charlotte County also offers training for its officers. According to Lt. Mark Bala of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, training is available through a special law enforcement TV network deputies can access via their computers. 

"We also have a Crisis Stabilization Unit that includes mental health professionals, and they do field training with us," Bala said. 

The CSU is also available to help a deputy in Charlotte County make a decision on whether someone is a Baker Act candidate. 

Lt. Keith Sowell of the DeSoto Sheriff's Office said generally deputies there receive training on Baker Act during the police academy. Although they are not given additional training specific to this law, they do have the extensive Baker Act manual to guide them. 

Lenderman noted there are also online resources at www.bakeracttraining.org, which she helped author. The online versions are free and can be done at any time. 

"With budget cuts, the state may not be able to do as much on-site training," Lenderman said. "The online version is a valuable alternative." 

The Baker Act allows a law enforcement officer to transport the person to a qualified facility, where he may be held for up to 72 hours for a medical examination. 

If the exhibited behavior is due to retardation, autism or another r form of developmental disability, Baker Act is inappropriate. 

If the person's disability is due to substance abuse instead of mental illness, the Baker Act cannot be used, but the Marchman Act may apply. 

A law enforcement officer can commit a person for involuntary examination by a mental health professional if: 

* the person refuses to voluntarily submit for an exam after the purpose has been explained, or 
* the person is unable to determine for himself whether an exam is necessary, and either: the person is likely to suffer from neglect, or refuses to care for himself, and such refusal or neglect poses a threat of harm to his well-being that willing family members or friends cannot address; or there is substantial likelihood that without treatment, the person will cause serious bodily harm to himself or others, as evidenced by recent behavior. 

By SUSAN E. HOFFMAN North Port Assistant Editor .