th mental illness functioning at a lower level than before incarcerationCONCLUSION People with mental illness in the criminal justice system are a large and growing population with enormous, complex needs. Instead of treating them, we prosecute them. We must reverse this trend now not only because it is the right and humanitarian thing to do, but also because our current practices spin people ever faster through the revolving door -- from the community to jail to the community to the hospital, out again and then back to jail -- and needlessly waste precious taxpayer dollars. We need to stop serving this population reluctantly and haphazardly, in precincts, court pens, emergency rooms, jails and prisons, and offer them, instead, comprehensive community-based services that will stop the revolving door. The solutions to these problems are clear. They are not necessarily expensive or difficult to implement. Many merely require a recognition of the inefficiencies of the current system, the programs and services that are available, and a desire to integrate our criminal justice and mental health systems in sensible ways. We need mechanisms to divert people with mental illness at every stage of the criminal justice system. We need ATI and enhanced community mental health programs that can accommodate people with mental illness diverted from the criminal justice system. We need discharge planning for all jail and prison inmates with mental illness and programs that will assist people as they return to the community. People with mental illness caught up in the criminal justice system are part of our communities. Our present system is failing to retrieve these many desperate lives and failing equally to spend available money judiciously. Decency and fiscal responsibility call for the changes outlined here. New York City and State could become leaders in addressing this growing national problem and assisting society's most vulnerable citizens. It ...
