“The number of people suffering serious mental illness in America’s jails and prisons is now 10 times the number receiving treatment in state psychiatric hospitals.”
Many of you have heard me say or read my belief that, “Not everybody [who law enforcement officers may have probable cause to arrest] belongs in jail.
One of the many opportunities I was provided by former Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon M. Keenan while assigned to his office was to audit the Crisis Intervention Team training developed by Dr. Randy Dupont and Major (retired) Sam Cochran, Memphis, Tennessee Police Department. We subsequently worked with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Georgia to implement Crisis Intervention Team training on a statewide basis.
Recently, President Donald J. Trump said in a speech to the National Association of Counties that, “County jails were not meant to deal with the mental illness problem. “It’s not compassionate to leave those with mental illness on the streets … We must get Americans the help they need.”
Recruiting and retention of highly qualified law enforcement personnel is always a priority for professional law enforcement agencies as these women and men represent our community. Equipping them involves more than logistics and technology to ensure due process for our citizens and guarantee we get citizens the help they need. I am committed to establishing Crisis Intervention Teams that are a community partnership of law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, individuals who live with mental illness and / or addiction disorders, their families, and other advocates. This will help persons with mental disorders and / or addictions access medical treatment rather than place them in the criminal justice system due to illness – related behaviors and will promote officer safety and the safety of the individual in crisis.
The single biggest issue facing sheriffs and their jails is that many times jails have become the de facto mental health facility and, in some counties, have become America’s “new asylums.” According to the National Sheriff’s Association, in the wake of de – institutionalization of the mentally ill, the number of people suffering serious mental illness in America’s jails and prisons is now 10 times the number receiving treatment in state psychiatric hospitals. Across our nation:
40 percent of jail inmates have a chronic medical condition
44 percent of jail inmates have been diagnosed as having a mental disorder
63 percent of jail inmates have a substance use disorder
70 percent of the 2 million youth arrested every year in the U.S. suffer from a mental health condition
96 percent of jail detainees and inmates do not receive a prison sentence and return to the community
Bryan County’s projected increase in population by 10,000 citizens over the next decade will afford new challenges and new opportunities for your Sheriff’s Office and our criminal justice system. My promise is to lead your Sheriff’s Office to the next level of professionalism in cooperation with the citizens of Bryan County. My years of experience at the local, state, and federal level provide a catalyst to achieve strategic and functional criminal justice modernization as we work together to successfully meet the opportunities which lie ahead.
Finally, please know that during this time of social distancing our thoughts and prayers are with each of you. Melissa and I remain available by phone or to come stand in your yard and assist where we may be needed.
Mike