(Dec. 15, 2015) The Treatment Advocacy Center continues to serve as a resource on the intersection of the criminal justice system and untreated severe mental illness by publishing reports that shed light on the consequences of our broken mental health system.
Following the release last Thursday of “Overlooked in the Undercounted: The Role of Mental Illness in Fatal Law Enforcement Encounters,” we have been contacted by media from coast to coast.
Below are just a few of the top news stories on the report:
- “People with mental illness 16 times more likely to be killed by police” – The problem stems from a lack of police training, as well as a lack of treatment for those with serious mental illness, Executive Director John Snook told USA Today.
- "Untreated Mentally Ill 16 Times More Likely to Be Killed By Police, Study Says" – The researchers call on lawmakers to implement policies that improve the mental health system, fund reliable tracking of use of deadly force by law enforcement and ensure that mental illness in fatal police shootings is reported, noted TIME.
- "US mentally ill 16 times more likely to be killed by police, study finds" – The study comes during a U.S. debate on the use of deadly force by police, fueled by the deaths of unarmed men in New York, Missouri, South Carolina and elsewhere, reported Fox News.
- "Risk of being killed by police is 16 times greater for those with mental illness" – "People don’t stop getting sick just because you don’t have hospital beds for them, they have to go somewhere, so they go to the places that can’t say no,” John Snook told The Guardian.
- “The divide between mental health treatment and criminal justice” – Listen to the Treatment Advocacy Center discuss the role of mental illness in law enforcement encounters on WBEZ.
The Treatment Advocacy Center has published additional reports on the topic, including:
- The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails: A State Survey
- Prevalence of Mental Health Diversion Tactics: A Survey of the States
Bestselling author and mental health advocate, Pete Earley, named the Treatment Advocacy Center “the most impactful mental health group in 2015.” Earley said, “Since its creation in 1998, the organization not only has pushed its campaign to reduce barriers to treatment, it has helped set our national mental health agenda.”
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