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Orlando Sentinel

December 6, 2001

Reprinted with permission. Copyright 2001 Orlando Sentinel. All rights reserved.

OPED
Law officers aren't mental-health professionals

By Donald F. Eslinger

In "Police struggle to deal with mentally ill" (Nov. 25 Orlando Sentinel), Monroe County Sheriff's Capt. Bob Peryam notes that "police are often the first line of contact and today's officers are well trained to evaluate persons with mental problems."

It is sad but true that we are often the first line of contact for people with severe, untreated mental illnesses who are in crisis.

But law-enforcement officers -- even those with specialized crisis-intervention training -- are not mental-health experts.

The fact remains that severe mental illnesses are diseases of the brain and should be managed by medical professionals.

The Baker Act, Florida's 30-year-old Mental Health Act, prohibits medical intervention for people with a mental illness who refuse treatment until they become dangerous.

When someone meets that standard, families often call the sheriff.

Nearly 100 times a day, Florida law-enforcement officers initiate the Baker Act for people with severe mental illnesses.

With proper treatment, these individuals are no more dangerous than the rest of the population. Left untreated, however, the risk of violence increases greatly.

This makes the situation precarious for everyone involved. Nationally, conservative estimates show that people with mental illnesses are killed in police altercations at a rate four times greater than the general population.

More common are the near tragedies. In August, a Seminole County woman was hospitalized for the fifth time under the Baker Act after firing a handgun at her father and then threatening to shoot herself. She was released after only three days. She no longer met the dangerousness standard, although she clearly needed treatment.

Most states allow consideration of other factors in ordering treatment -- like deteriorating symptoms or past history -- to allow earlier intervention and help prevent tragedies.

Reform must also include court-ordered community treatment, also called assisted outpatient treatment, which increases treatment compliance and reduces violence, arrest and hospitalization.

Our law currently precludes a judge from ordering assisted outpatient treatment, making Florida one of only nine states in the country with this restriction.

It is important for officers to be well-trained to support citizens in crisis; however, it is not enough. Florida's laws must support early intervention. That's why the Florida Sheriffs' Association supports Baker Act reform.

Donald F. Eslinger is immediate past president of the Florida Sheriffs' Association and a member of the board of directors of the National Sheriffs' Association. He is the sheriff of Seminole County.

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