Listserv Info

At the the first annual conference in Montreal in 2002, the most commonly stated feedback from people who attended was that it was great to talk to colleagues and make contacts with others who are dealing with the same issues. As a result of the conference, and the need that many of us have felt to have a way to get in touch with each other, the Committee has established a listserv for police/mental health liaison issues.

What exactly is a listserv? In brief, it is an email-based mailing list. It is a way for any group of people who share a common interest to communicate easily and regularly with each other. How does it work? It starts with someone (the list “owner”) registering a title and enrolling subscribers or members. Our listserv is called “policemhl-L.” All listserv titles end with “L” (for list). The “mhl,” as you might guess, is for “mental health liaison.” If you are a member of a listserv, you will get frequent emails from other members of the group. These will not be personal emails but rather message or questions that other members of the group post to the list at large. Members can then read or reply to messages that others post, and they can post questions themselves. You don’t have to reply or post—you can just sit back and “listen” to discussions—or you can join in. It’s not a chat room; this does not take place in “real time.” It’s an efficient means of emailing and talking to a whole lot of people who share a common interest.

For example, maybe 50 or 75 or 100 police officers across the country join this particular listserv. Maybe your police service is thinking of developing a diversion program for the mentally ill but there is some disagreement about whether it should be a pre-charge or post charge program. You can send a message to the list asking what experience other departments have had with diversion programs and see what others suggest. Maybe you are having a lot of trouble with ER physicians and are wondering if anyone else has a solution. Perhaps our committee would like to get input about what the theme for next year’s conference should be. If you send a question to the listserv, it goes out to all the members, and the replies also go out to all the members. It’s that easy.

The bottom line is that this is a free, painless way to make some contacts with others who are doing similar work and just see what other people are up to, as well as get advice if you want it.

There’s no advertising on a listserv, and we don’t give out the email addresses to others.

Never done this before? It’s pretty simple. If I can do it, you can do it. If you have email, that’s all it takes.

Interested?. Please note that membership is restricted to Canadian Police Officers and mental health professionals who work directly with police. If you might be interested in subscribing, send a note describing who you are, where you work etc to:

Listserv Admin