Program Would Treat the Mentally Ill, Not Jail Them

Responding to reports that a record number of mentally ill inmates are filling Los Angeles County’s jails, an official task force has recommended the creation of 24-hour psychiatric emergency response teams to serve central Los Angeles, officials said Monday.

The response teams, composed of police officers and psychiatric nurses, would respond with police and direct mentally ill people to clinics and hospitals, said Cynthia Telles, who chairs the county’s Incarcerated Mentally Ill Task Force.

Many of the homeless mentally ill who encounter police end up in jail under misdemeanor charges such as trespassing and disturbing the peace. Faced with public complaints about bizarre or antisocial behavior, officers often feel they have no choice but to place them in jail.

The task force was created last year after The Times reported that a record number of mentally ill inmates were flooding Los Angeles County courts and jails. About 15% of County Jail inmates suffer from serious emotional disorders, making Los Angeles County Jail, in effect, the nation’s largest mental institution.

Telles said the teams would be created under an agreement between the Los Angeles Police Department and the county Department of Mental Health. The program would cost about $313,000 annually but could save the county more than $13 million each year in court and jail costs, Telles said.

“This is a cost-saving measure,” Telles said. “Keeping people in jail is more expensive than providing treatment in the community.”

The task force also will recommend increased staffing for a diversion program that places representatives of the Department of Mental Health in the Municipal Court system. The mental health workers would attempt to find placements for jail inmates in board and care facilities and other programs.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the task force’s recommendations today.

Telles said the proposed psychiatric teams would service the Central Bureau of the Police Department, where many of the homeless mentally ill are concentrated. If successful, the program would be expanded throughout the county.

The task force is composed of representatives of the Sheriff’s Department, the Department of Mental Health, the district attorney and public defender’s offices and mental health advocacy groups. The task force’s final report is due out later this year.