March 23, 2020
Treatment Advocacy Center Executive Director John Snook to Testify for President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - John Snook, Executive Director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, will provide testimony on recommendations to improve policies and practices for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) in crisis at an upcoming virtual hearing of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice.
Established in October 2019, the Commission is tasked with evaluating and recommending actions the nation can take to prevent, reduce and control crime and better assist victims to the U.S. Attorney General and the President of the United States. The Commission hearing will be held Tuesday, March 24, from 3:30-4:30 pm Eastern Time, and will focus on the impact of homelessness, mental illness and substance use on American law enforcement.
“I’m honored to be invited by the commission to testify on this vital issue on behalf of the Treatment Advocacy Center,” said Snook. “By increasing the availability of treatment beds, supporting treatment programs proven to reduce incarceration rates, and strengthening our integrated crisis response systems, we can address the systematic issues that for too long have led to the neglect of those with severe mental illness, forcing law enforcement onto the front lines of mental illness crisis.”
Last year, the Treatment Advocacy Center documented that one fifth of total law enforcement staff time was used to respond to and transport individuals with SMI, at an estimated annual cost of nearly $1 billion.
“As a result of bed shortages and limited community treatment options, jails and prisons are now our de facto mental health institutions,” said Snook. “Law enforcement officers do not sign up to be mental health practitioners and using them as such wastes precious resources, damages law enforcement-community relationships, unnecessarily criminalizes a medical issue and ultimately ill serves both the person in need and the system attempting to provide care.”
For more information on the Committee, please visit their webpage via the U.S. Department of Justice.
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The Treatment Advocacy Center is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. The organization promotes laws, policies, and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.