Bloomberg: City Plans To Handle Mentally Ill Criminals With Treatment Instead Of Prison

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bloombergNew York City is making a new effort to channel mentally ill people who get arrested into treatment instead of jail, if they don’t need to be there, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today.

Citing statistics showing that people with mental health problems tend to spend extended time behind bars for lack of bail money, officials said they aimed to do better at assessing defendants’ psychiatric needs and meeting them in the least restrictive setting that’s appropriate.

“If more New Yorkers who need mental health care and community support can be helped to get their lives on track when they’ve run afoul of the law, we will all be better off,” Bloomberg said in a statement after announcing the initiative on his weekly radio show. “No one needs to be reminded anymore of just how important it is to get this group of people the care they need.”

Read more here.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


5 COMMENTS

  1. If they’re crazy when they’re put in, they’ll be just as crazy or worse when they come out. Mandatory treatment is the only sensible solution. The problem is, treatment costs money. Who in our selfish, greed-oriented society is going to foot the bill? In a culture of “I, me mine” nobody wants to help the stranger any more. And yes, I’m talking about us, too.

  2. People who commit crimes should go to jail, people who do not commit crimes should be left alone. Those who have committed a crime and have health issues, should receive basic medical care in jail. What is the difference if they have mental health issues or liver problems? Oh wait, maybe I know the answer, liver diseases can be objectively diagnosed.

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