OK...here is the problem with our current system - we have no way of dealing with mental health issues. (302 commitment are only for 120 hours)

So what do store owners, neighbors etc do? They have to call the police.

Please please please do not take these comments as busting on cops. They are dumping grounds for all the ills of society - especially mental health ones. It's the crazy ones that cops have to be concerned about for good cause.

Cops are NOT trained in how to deal with these issues and they have limited powers outside arresting someone! They are between a rock and hard place and hopefully the prison system will SOMEHOW deal with it. Cops are often left with a choice of jailing someone or letting them go and them getting hurt.

I have heard of circumstances where someone is going to hurt themselves and the cops come and TRY to get them committed and the hospital won't take them. Now what?
Again the prison and the guards are the dumping grounds for society and again, they are NOT trained on how to deal with the issues NOR do they have the tools to address the problems properly.

In jail, these mental health issue prisoners become victims of the system and others who will prey on them.

I understand that the Courts and District Attorney are working on Mental Health Court. It would be similar to drug court where they work with people to stay on meds and be with people who can care for them.

Our legislator have to change the laws so that there are other avenues to deal with this issues. Across Pennsylvania, we are jailing the same amount of people that live in Lancaster and York COMBINED! Trust me when I say to you that out of the 100,000 in jail tonight there is significant number that would/could/should be taken care instead of jail!

Do not wait until it's your loved one. Change it NOW.

rh

I remember an interview w/ Carol Burrnett where she said they were so poor her grandmother and Carol would unroll toilet paper in public restrooms right off of the cardboard tube and hide it on their person and sneek it home.

I agree totally with what Ron Harper posted earlier. The state closed down most of the mental hospitals and the police are left to deal with the mentally handicapped. Believe me when I say the police do not like to lock up people with mental problems. There has to be an avenue for the violent offfenders to be placed in protective custody but htere isn't except for prison. Well, Ron, where do we start?

Glad you asked 

All of the following will require our legislators to actually do something in Harrisburg

Restructure our Pennsylvania prison system similar to the Federal system.

Basically there is a low/no security system for the non-violent. The know they can run away but if they get caught they go to the “big house”. In theory we are suppose to have different “levels of security but you would be hard pressed to describe the differences.

Next we need to have a mental health system whereby resources are committed to watch and care for the mentally needy. The money is already spent on prisons so instead of that, we have mental health system to deal with those people.

Police would have other places than jail to send someone.

Jail should be reserved for violent crimes.

In terms of the other crimes - I would like to see us spend our resources on supervisors instead of jail. Instead of sentencing people to jail – make them work full-time at a job and then full-time at a “volunteer” job! Make their life consumed with work and reporting to their supervisor and they will have less time to break laws. Instead they will be longing for sleep and getting out of this sentence.

Contrasting with today’s system, the person goes to prison where they spend their time doing nothing!

rh

You make good points and I have long believed that there should be alternatives for non-violent offenders other than prison. This will be the stumbling block, imo: