When Mayor Eric Adams took office in January with a crime-reduction platform, some left-leaning Democrats argued that he would prioritize policing over the underlying problems of crime, such as mental illness and unemployment. I feared that
Towards the end of his first year as mayor, Adams has certainly emphasized policing, flooding subways with cops and focusing on quality-of-life crime.
But the city has lagged behind in its efforts to strengthen its response to people suffering from mental illness, according to a report released Friday by the city’s public advocate, Jumaan Williams.
Since 2019, the number of mental health crisis centers has halved, and the number of mobile mental crisis response teams has also decreased, the report finds. According to the report, police officers are not well trained to respond to mental health emergencies, yet they remain the primary choice for responding to mental health emergencies.
In a letter to the mayor, Williams said, “Continued consideration of how we define and create public safety will address this crisis holistically as a matter of health, not simply law enforcement. We are also spotlighting the need,” he wrote.
Adams isn’t ignoring the city’s mental health crisis nor its potential impact on public safety. In October, he and Gov. Kathy Ho-Chol announced 1,200 additional overtime cop shifts each day on the subway, two new “transition to home” units for street and subway homeless people with severe mental illness, and two new police officers. A dedicated 25-bed unit in a psychiatric center.
The mayor said last month that mental illness was the main reason crime on the subway had increased by almost 40% from last year.
“When you analyze subway crime, you see people with mental health problems driving it,” Adams said.
But when the city was forced to cut spending this month due to looming billions of dollars budget deficitchose to take $12 million off the Department of Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response (B-Heard), which dispatches teams of mental health professionals to specific emergencies, rather than the police.
A Citizen Advocate report calls on the city to stop using police officers as a first line response to people suffering from acute mental illness. It has created hotlines such as and recommended that the Department of Education provide annual mental health screenings in schools.
The report praised the city for creating more drop-in centers where homeless New Yorkers can get food and services. The Adams administration also increased the number of beds in safe havens. It is a temporary home for the homeless that provides mental health and substance abuse services and has promised to make 4,000 beds available.
Adams spokesman Fabian Levy said the government had agreed that “a lot of work remains to help the most vulnerable and keep all New Yorkers safe,” adding that the 100 million Cited public advocates’ recognition that $71 million has been spent on housing and medical services for the mentally ill.New Yorkers in need without shelter.
Although Williams failed to run for the Democratic gubernatorial primary this year, he issued a similar report in 2019 that found the city cut some mental health services.
In 2019, there were 8 respite care centers that provide an alternative to hospitalization for people suffering from a mental crisis. Only four centers for adults and one center for children are operating this year. A further $5 million needs to be allocated to open more centers, the report said.
While there are currently only two mental health emergency care centers in East Harlem and the Bronx, the report recommends at least one in each borough.
The number of mobile crisis teams has also decreased from 24 in 2019 to 19. The report states that the team is available beyond the current 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. working hours and can be reached via his three-digit phone number, which is not yet associated with police. is recommended.
Crime was a major issue in the gubernatorial and midterm elections. Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin repeatedly called the city dangerous placeThe message echoed far outside the world city border.
“When these midterm elections, especially after the disaster that happened in the states, are over, the message is that people are worried about public safety and we are not doing a good job of responding,” Williams said. That means either ignoring the issue or jumping on topics like the Republican Party that are so toxic.”
Some people with mental health problems are getting caught up in public safety situations, but those situations don’t explain the rise in crime, says Ruth, director of the disability justice program at New York Attorneys for the Public Interest. Rowencron said:
“If you have better mental health services, better housing options, and complete services for people who have been neglected for decades, that’s how you get out of the mental health crisis and avoid the crisis.” We have to recognize that it’s a way to do it, and the proportion of public safety issues is very small, ”said Lowenkron.
