The county’s current plan of action for decriminalizing mental illness is the Stepping Up Initiative, which aims to reduce the number of mentally ill inmates nationwide. The initiative brings together leaders in mental health, law enforcement, and criminal justice to help provide nonviolent mentally ill offenders with treatment, not jail time.

The Sun spoke with mental health experts and county representatives who are vying to improve law enforcement’s approach to mentally ill offenders.

At its Dec. 13 meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously green-lighted the Sheriff’s Office’s proposal to pursue the Stepping Up Initiative, which would divert nonviolent mentally ill offenders away from jail and into treatment programs—without criminal charges.

The Sheriff’s Office currently employs deputies who are trained to identify a potentially mentally ill person. Behavioral Wellness currently employs experts who can evaluate that person and recommend a treatment plan. Even with the lack of residential treatment facilities, Plastino said refined teamwork between those government bodies could make a difference.

“There’s a problem with the way we deal with our mentally ill in law enforcement,” he said, “but it’s not necessarily law enforcement’s problem. We’re asked and tasked to do a job. We’re given the tools to do our job. When we’re not given certain tools, they’re either taken away or not provided, then we’re left with a set of tools we have to use. Right now the only set of tools we have is jail.”

To read more of Staff Writer Brenna Swanston's article, please click here.