When the number of people with mental illness in jails exceeds that of patients in treatment facilities, the results cause everyone to suffer. The majority of people with mental illnesses benefit from treatment. At the most basic level, we need mental health equity in health insurance plans and mental health services for people without insurance. Until we have those, however, we must better deal with the reality that thousands of people have untreated mental illnesses. The availability of psychiatric emergency service centers or emergency rooms with staff trained in dealing with mental health crisis situations.
Experience shows that CITs are a highly effective best practice in several major cities.
If someone with mental illness is accused of a felony or any lesser offense, officers know how to communicate effectively with him or her to prevent or minimize negative behavior. An unexpected benefit of the training is that officers in Houston have reported success in using their CIT communication techniques to help settle domestic disputes. Key to the success of CITs is a close working relationship with psychiatric emergency service centers or emergency rooms, where staff members know how to quickly assess the mental health status of offenders and initiate treatment if necessary. Incarcerating an individual in a mental health crisis only exacerbates the crisis. By working with health care professionals trained to identify and treat mental health problems, police officers often can obtain treatment for the offenders rather than incarcerating them for minor offenses stimulated by their mental illness.