JONESBORO, La. (KNOE) – Local law enforcement officials say they lack adequate resources to respond to emergency calls involving mental illness.
Chief Israel Smith from the Jonesboro Police Department says his officers are spending too much time driving people to mental hospitals far away because there aren’t enough places to help them nearby.
“In some instances like this, it really leaves us helpless,” Smith said.
Jail not the answer, officials say
Smith said putting people in jail when they are having a mental health crisis isn’t the right solution and it’s making things harder for families and police in Jonesboro.
“We don’t have enough facilities to house people that need long-term mental health,” Smith said. “Just throwing them in jail, that just creates a cycle. Once they go in jail, they do their time, they come back out, and then they’re in the same position, if not worse.”
In Louisiana, it costs about $27 a day to house an inmate. The cost to bed one person for mental health issues ranges from $300 to $1,000.
Funding identified as key barrier
Mark Johnson, a former police officer and current assistant criminology professor, says it comes down to one thing — money.
“When we ask ourselves, why are we in this crisis? If we know we have people with mental health issues, why can’t we fix it?” Johnson said.
Johnson said addressing mental health requires a collective effort.
“As a society, we really want to get serious about doing mental health, and it’s going to come down to money,” Johnson said. “And unfortunately, there’s plenty of people we’ve seen, plenty of tragedy or folks who have folks with mental health issues. They’ll be the first one to say, yeah, I wish I could do something to help that. But it’s going to take all of us to do it.”
Johnson said elected officials need to find solutions.
“But they don’t have the money to be able to address the problem. And I think this is a serious issue where our elected officials, we need to come down, we need to sit down at the table and find some serious solutions to this thing,” Johnson said.
Smith says it’s challenging to not have a solution for people battling mental illness.
“So in a situation like this where you don’t have the right solution and you’re forced to figure it out whatever way you can, it’s just, you know, it’s mentally taxing,” Smith said.
Smith wants the community to talk to local leaders about getting help and support in Jonesboro.
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