Bismarck, North Dakota (KFYR) – Over the past few years, law enforcement and attorneys have witnessed individuals with behavioral health problems make it through the justice system. Treating mental illness is one factor advocates say could reduce crime, but keeping people from going unnoticed is an uphill battle.
Most people who suffer from mental illness are not violent and are actually more likely to be victims of crime than to commit violent crimes. However, people suffering from untreated mental illness are more likely to interact with the police and are more likely to be imprisoned.
After being incarcerated at the Burleigh County Jail, they meet with a behavior problem expert. Staff work daily on behavioral health issues. Just being in prison can make matters worse.
“Anyone incarcerated in a correctional facility of any kind is life-threatening and stressful,” said Major Trent Wangen of the Burley County Sheriff’s Department.
Specialist Mark Kemmett monitors about 20 cases of behavioral health issues each week. The biggest challenge is the pace at which individuals move through the facility.
“I spent a few hours in the morning with someone who really needed help, went out to lunch, came back to continue meeting with them, and they bonded.” Burleigh Morton County Jail .
His goal is to connect people in crisis to services quickly.
“This is a prison, not a treatment center. You can’t solve years of problems in two or three weeks,” added Kemmet.
Yet he hopes individuals will not stay in prison longer than necessary.
Prison is just the first hurdle. Travis Fink, who oversees public defenders in North Dakota, says there are a growing number of cases involving individuals with mental health issues that can slow them down in court. , the legislator updated the entitlement law for the first time since his 70s.
“We’ve noticed in some offices that our attorneys are struggling. I think some of the judges were really struggling to understand how to deal with this. So what we did was state hospital doctors, prosecutors, and defense attorneys,” said Travis Fink, executive director of the North Dakota Board of Legal Counsel for the Poor.
Local, regional and state departments work together to ensure people get the help they need, but resources and wait times vary.
“The work is ongoing, and it’s important work. We’re working on these issues to let the people of North Dakota know,” Fink said.
He said we have a constitutional duty not to convict people who don’t understand what’s going on.
Different states have different approaches to this issue. South Dakota has created a mental health court to deal with people with persistent mental illness as they move through the legal system. As of this year, North Dakota judges are participating in a training program to better manage individuals with behavioral health problems.
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