--- The way I see prison reform ---
This is indeed an uncomfortable topic.
EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG IN LIFE IS!
We cannot and should not continue to look away like it's not our problem.
It is everyone's problem!
All of us are paying for a broken prison system that's wasting our tax dollars and more importantly...
our people!
-------------------------
somewhere along the way, somebody shouted out,
"defund the police!"
How ridiculous for some of us to so quickly jump on that bandwagon.
Let's use the term "redirect" police funding. What would that look like?
Miami-Dade County is having great success with their mental health project.
That alone saves lives and taxpayer dollars.
Police officers should not be expected to be...
child psychologists (as in the article below),
domestic violence counselors and experts in drug rehabilitation.
please check out these stories and
open your mind to the possibilities.
This is indeed an uncomfortable topic.
EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG IN LIFE IS!
We cannot and should not continue to look away like it's not our problem.
It is everyone's problem!
All of us are paying for a broken prison system that's wasting our tax dollars and more importantly...
our people!
-------------------------
somewhere along the way, somebody shouted out,
"defund the police!"
How ridiculous for some of us to so quickly jump on that bandwagon.
Let's use the term "redirect" police funding. What would that look like?
Miami-Dade County is having great success with their mental health project.
That alone saves lives and taxpayer dollars.
Police officers should not be expected to be...
child psychologists (as in the article below),
domestic violence counselors and experts in drug rehabilitation.
please check out these stories and
open your mind to the possibilities.
* * * * * * *
Yes, this is tough to see!
So let's do something to prevent it from every happening again!
In his statement, Attorney, Ben Crump said the boy had an IEP, or Individualized Education Program for children with disabilities. The IEP is "intended to make sure his educational experience was appropriate for him," Crump said in the statement.
"Instead of honoring and fulfilling that plan, the school placed him with a substitute teacher who had no awareness or concern about his needs and who escalated the situation by using her hands to forcibly move him," the civil rights attorney said in the statement.
"This is a heartbreaking example of how our educational and policing systems train children to be criminals by treating them like criminals – if convicted, the child in this case would have been a convicted felon at eight years old," he said. "This child was failed by everyone who played a part in this horrific incident."
"Instead of honoring and fulfilling that plan, the school placed him with a substitute teacher who had no awareness or concern about his needs and who escalated the situation by using her hands to forcibly move him," the civil rights attorney said in the statement.
"This is a heartbreaking example of how our educational and policing systems train children to be criminals by treating them like criminals – if convicted, the child in this case would have been a convicted felon at eight years old," he said. "This child was failed by everyone who played a part in this horrific incident."
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THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY
PBS DOCUMENTARY
an inspiring story at the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system
* * * * * * *
FACING MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES IN PRISON - JUSTIN'S STORY
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Amanpour and Company- July 24, 2020
judge Steve Leifman & political scientist Norm Orenstein interview of
arrest and prison reform
for the mentally ill
-- Excerpts from interview: --
Over five years, 97 people with mental illness were
arrested 2200 times,
spent 27,000 days in jail,
13,000 days in a psychiatric state facility,
equaling $14.7 million cost to taxpayers = 0 success.
Over five years, 97 people with mental illness were
arrested 2200 times,
spent 27,000 days in jail,
13,000 days in a psychiatric state facility,
equaling $14.7 million cost to taxpayers = 0 success.
Miami-dade county's Criminal Mental Health Project
pop. 2.7 million
Crisis Intervention Team Policing
A 40 hour training program that teaches
how to identify someone in crisis,
how to De-escalate the situation,
and where to get them the help they need
as opposed to arresting them.
In the last eight years,
The two agencies that handle 60% of all calls,
got 91,000+ mental health calls and
only made 152 arrests.
Police shootings almost stopped.
Injuries & excessive force
with the mentally ill almost stopped.
They actually reduced the number of arrests
in Dade county from a high of about 118,000 a year to 53,000 a year.
Training results:
About 3,757 fewer jail bookings of people with mental illness annually.
Reduction in jail admissions resulted in cutting $29 million in costs per year.
City of Miami police department cut police shootings by 1/3.
This program has also helped police officers identify their own mental health issues. More police die of suicides each year than in the line of duty.
This investment saves lives and money and
affects all behaviors on the streets in a good way.
Covid-19 has brought about
the urgent need for these programs
because prisons present a hotbed for Covid.
how to identify someone in crisis,
how to De-escalate the situation,
and where to get them the help they need
as opposed to arresting them.
In the last eight years,
The two agencies that handle 60% of all calls,
got 91,000+ mental health calls and
only made 152 arrests.
Police shootings almost stopped.
Injuries & excessive force
with the mentally ill almost stopped.
They actually reduced the number of arrests
in Dade county from a high of about 118,000 a year to 53,000 a year.
Training results:
About 3,757 fewer jail bookings of people with mental illness annually.
Reduction in jail admissions resulted in cutting $29 million in costs per year.
City of Miami police department cut police shootings by 1/3.
This program has also helped police officers identify their own mental health issues. More police die of suicides each year than in the line of duty.
This investment saves lives and money and
affects all behaviors on the streets in a good way.
Covid-19 has brought about
the urgent need for these programs
because prisons present a hotbed for Covid.
* * * * * * *
A prison in washington state prison offers inmates
pet cats for rehabilitation.
* * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
In 1971 President Richard nixon declared
a "War On Drugs"
* * * * * * *
The Facts: 13 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty
* There is a better way to help the families of murder victims.
* We are the “State.” When the “State” kills, we are participants.
* Race and place determine who lives and who dies.
* The United States remains in the same company as Iraq, Iran and China as one of the major advocates and users of capital punishment.
* Corrections personnel involved in executions, like our military, frequently suffer PTSD from having to kill.
* We are the “State.” When the “State” kills, we are participants.
* Race and place determine who lives and who dies.
* The United States remains in the same company as Iraq, Iran and China as one of the major advocates and users of capital punishment.
* Corrections personnel involved in executions, like our military, frequently suffer PTSD from having to kill.
* * * * * * *
