On the recordOctober 17, 2002
I have joined today with Senators DeWine, Cantwell, Brownback, and Grassley to introduce legislation that will help State and local governments reduce crime by providing more effective treatment for the mentally ill. All too often, people with mental illness rotate repeatedly between the criminal justice system and the streets of our communities, committing a series of minor offenses. Their crimes occupy the ever scarcer time of law enforcement officers, diverting them from their more urgent responsibilities, and leave the offenders themselves in prisons or jails where little or no medical care is available for them. With this legislation, we are trying to give State and local governments the tools they need to break this cycle, for the good of law enforcement, corrections officers, our public safety, and mentally ill offenders.
Source
govinfo.gov
