united-states police mental-health
Can a police officer report to a psychiatrist?
<p>In the United States, a psychiatrist calls a police officer under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarasoff_v._Regents_of_the_University_of_California" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tarasoff</a> to report a possible danger. The police officer speaks with the potentially dangerous person and the dangerous person's friends. Can the police officer report back to the psychiatrist what they learned in these conversations? Is this standard police practice?</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Can the police officer report back to the psychiatrist what they
  learned in these conversations?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes. There is no legal reason that a police officer couldn't inform the psychiatrist what they learned in these conversations. While communications between a psychiatrist and a patient are generally privileged and confidential, absent the <em>Tarasoff</em> exception, communications between a police officer and a suspect are not.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Is this standard police practice?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So far as I know, there is no standard police practice regarding following up with a referring psychiatrist one way or the other, after a police officer visits with a potentially dangerous suspect. Whether this happens would come down to a particular police officer's personal style, the policies of a particular police department, and perhaps local custom developed over time.</p>
