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After Rikers Island abuses, New York City to pledge $130m to help mentally ill offenders
Source: Associated Press
After Rikers Island abuses, New York City to pledge $130m to help mentally ill offenders
Associated Press in New York
theguardian.com, Tuesday 2 December 2014 18.43 GMT
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio wants to pledge $130 million over four years to overhaul how the city deals with mentally ill and drug-addicted suspects, hoping to divert more to treatment instead of New York’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex.
De Blasio’s plans, to be announced Tuesday, are based on the recommendations of a task force he appointed following a series of reports by The Associated Press detailing problems at Rikers, including the deaths of two inmates suffering from serious mental illness.
The reforms are aimed largely at inmates with mental health and substance abuse problems who repeatedly end up in jail on minor offenses because there is nowhere else for them to go.
The changes, which do not require city council approval, include offering stepped-up training for police to identify such suspects, using drop-off treatment centers for low-level offenders, and allowing more leeway for judges to order supervised release and treatment instead of jail. They draw on reforms already tried in Seattle, Washington DC, and Louisville, Kentucky.
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Associated Press in New York
theguardian.com, Tuesday 2 December 2014 18.43 GMT
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio wants to pledge $130 million over four years to overhaul how the city deals with mentally ill and drug-addicted suspects, hoping to divert more to treatment instead of New York’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex.
De Blasio’s plans, to be announced Tuesday, are based on the recommendations of a task force he appointed following a series of reports by The Associated Press detailing problems at Rikers, including the deaths of two inmates suffering from serious mental illness.
The reforms are aimed largely at inmates with mental health and substance abuse problems who repeatedly end up in jail on minor offenses because there is nowhere else for them to go.
The changes, which do not require city council approval, include offering stepped-up training for police to identify such suspects, using drop-off treatment centers for low-level offenders, and allowing more leeway for judges to order supervised release and treatment instead of jail. They draw on reforms already tried in Seattle, Washington DC, and Louisville, Kentucky.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/02/de-blasio-mentally-ill-reforms