Attorney General Ashley Moody Holds Round Table On Mental Health Issues

Law enforcement from around the state took part in a round table on mental health today (Wed) hosted by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

"We ask law enforcement to make very critical time-sensitive decisions on what to do in these very unique situations. And sometimes we ask them to do that with very little training or very little background in dealing with mental health."

There were representatives from various sheriff's offices on hand and the plan was idea-sharing.

"I loved hearing that Pasco had visited Miami and had visited Pinellas to try and pull best practices before they just came up with something, because the important thing is to make sure that we are looking at data."

Moody says data drives all decisions in law enforcement.

"Not what we think will work, not what we feel like would be the best. Looking at cost, looking at what is working in terms of successes and recidivism numbers. Data should drive every decision we make."

The discussion was centered on reducing recidivism and streamlining costs by coming up with ways to handle mentally ill individuals prior to an arrest.

A representative from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Behavioral Health Unit talked about how specially trained deputies are paired up with mental health counselors to respond to calls when necessary

In addition to law enforcement officials, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and State Representative Toby Overdorf were in attendance.

The event was the second in a series of round tables focusing on mental health issues facing Florida's criminal justice system.

Photo: Florida Attorney General's Office


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