(May 20, 2013) Whenever Charlene McNally Fears went off her lithium, the caring mother and grandmother turned into a different – and dangerous – person. And, when she did, it was up to the police to respond.
The event that occurred the last time Fears and law enforcement collided sets the theme for reporter Matthew Spina’s gripping exploration of how “police have become the front line in dealing with the mentally ill,” (“Mental health system has failed the severely ill,” The Buffalo News, May 18).
Treatment Advocacy Center board member and head of the New York State Association of Police Chiefs Michael Biasotti sums up the situation in the story: “What used to be dealt with by the medical community years ago is now dumped on criminal justice. And it’s just caused a nightmare.”
The criminal justice system is not an adequate replacement for comprehensive psychiatric care. We need to ensure people get treatment before an emergency occurs.
New York already strengthened its assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) law this year. A bill is still pending to improve its inpatient commitment law. S. 4377 would make it easier to provide mandatory hospital treatment for people who are unable to meet their basic survival needs. It would also make clear that a person cannot be released from a psychiatric hospital until he or she is deemed capable of complying with treatment in the community.
If law enforcement is going to be retired from the front lines of mental health in New York or anywhere, good treatment laws – and the legislation like S. 4377 that creates them – are essential.
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