Get mentally ill out of prison cells, into proper treatment - Detroit Free Press

Opinion

Among the ways to cut prison and jail costs in Michigan, few offer as quick a payback as getting treatment for mentally ill people who are arrested -- instead of routinely putting them behind bars.

Make no mistake, taxpayers cover their costs one way or another. But for people who can be safely treated outside of lockups -- even if the initial costs are higher than a jail cell would be -- the long-term costs will surely be less of a drag on the state budget. In cases where treatment helps people return to or stay in the workforce, the effect is to make an asset out of a potential liability.

Sadly, making the argument in dollars and cents detracts from what should be the strongest point: that it is simply inhumane to keep locking up people whose rehabilitation depends on therapy and medical treatment rather than punishment and isolation. Some of the most heart-breaking jail and prison stories center on people who, facing the crushing burden of mental illness and confinement, didn't survive. The case of Timothy Joe Souders (see editorial at left) stands as a horrifying reminder.
A newly formed group of advocates is scheduled today to launch an initiative to improve the ways this state handles mentally ill Michiganders when they come in contact with the criminal justice system. Partners in Crisis members range from sheriffs and judges to experts in mental health, law and psychiatry. Their chief aim is to implement better diversion practices from the justice system into mental health treatment wherever appropriate, and to improve the care of the mentally ill who have to stay locked up.

The first steps include getting better information, so everyone in the state understands the stakes. Some estimates show that among those held in the largest county jails, more than half have a diagnosis of mental illness, and among them, more their half their offenses are nonviolent.

This does not mean that mental illness leads to crime as much as it portrays how Michigan has left them with so few places to find help. By closing mental health facilities and limiting treatment, the state has ended up with a default system -- a costly, inhumane one -- festering inside its jails and prisons.