Editorial: Better care needed for mentally ill

About two decades ago an earnest push began to release many of the mentally ill from state-run institutions, which in some states were more like prisons than treatment centers. This national shift in public policy, while well-meaning, hasn't necessarily made matters better. States and local governments have not provided enough funding to treat the mentally ill who no longer are in these institutions. So they often have nowhere to turn and don't receive needed medicine or counseling, sometimes ending up homeless. While most of the mentally ill aren't violent, a minority have posed a danger to others, setting up confrontations that have required police intervention -- sometimes with tragic consequences.

As the Sun's Stacy Willis reported Sunday in her story about policing the mentally ill, these confrontations at times have become deadly in both the Las Vegas Valley and nationwide. Recently a knife-wielding man, who suffered from schizophrenia, was killed by a Metro police officer after the man lunged at him. Sheriff Jerry Keller said the officer's actions were justified, and it is important to note that police officers shouldn't shirk their duty of protecting the public and themselves in life-threatening situations. But it still is encouraging that the sheriff believes police officers need more training when dealing with the mentally ill. One program that should be explored fully is that developed by the Memphis police force, training that teaches officers how to deal with those who have mental illness. These officers in turn are the first dispatched to a scene involving the mentally ill, in the hope that they can better diffuse a volatile situation.

Providing police officers with more training, though, is just a Band-Aid. Just as has been the case with teachers, who now are forced to also double as surrogate parents, police officers have seen their traditional law enforcement roles expand as well, which now includes social work. It's not fair to police officers to have to pick up the slack because state and local officials won't provide sufficient funding to keep the mentally ill off the streets. More importantly, the lack of government-sponsored care prevents the mentally ill from getting better. Keller also has called upon local and state government to work on developing a valleywide solution to address the mentally ill who aren't receiving treatment. It could be costly ensuring that the mentally ill receive adequate outpatient care, but the present course is a prescription for failure that helps no one.

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