California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that makes it easier for authorities to compel treatment for people with mental illness or addiction issues. The proposal is partly aimed at addressing the state’s growing homelessness crisis.
I find those numbers misleading since they only account for those people who’ve been caught and prosecuted. Police almost universally ignore property crimes like theft and vandalism because there is so much of it and because it doesn’t bring any benefit to the city/department when your perpetrators can’t pay their fines or court costs. With mentally ill people, they’re more likely to just shoot them dead rather than bring charges against them or take them to a mental health facility. Somehow this all gets excluded from the studies.
I find those numbers misleading since they only account for those people who’ve been caught and prosecuted. Police almost universally ignore property crimes like theft and vandalism because there is so much of it and because it doesn’t bring any benefit to the city/department when your perpetrators can’t pay their fines or court costs. With mentally ill people, they’re more likely to just shoot them dead rather than bring charges against them or take them to a mental health facility. Somehow this all gets excluded from the studies.