The Broward County Sheriff has issued an urgent plea after he said too many mentally ill people are ending up in jail instead of receiving the treatment they need, and it's costing taxpayers millions.
Sheriff Gregory Tony said it costs around $117 million per year to house and care for people suffering from mental illness in the county.
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But the issues goes beyond the monetary costs.
"These are societal, social issues that we’re going to have to tackle in this county. We can’t just turn it into, we’ll put them in handcuffs, out of sight out of mind," Tony said.
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The issue has been top of mind for Tony, who has been studying the problem and on Thursday sent a letter to criminal justice stakeholders including the chief judge, the public defender's office, even the state attorney, urging change.
He's hoping they can all work together to try to find a better way to treat people suffering from mental illness. He said locking people up isn't working.
"We are not saying everyone needs to be released, but not all of them belong inside the jail receiving mental health care and medical treatment," Tony said.
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Tony said the problem has been getting worse in recent years, with a nearly 70% increase in the number of people receiving mental health services over the past 10-plus years. That's despite a decrease in the overall jail population.
"If we don’t do something now we are going to continue, meaning the Sheriff’s Office to be the de-facto mental health institute for a county of 2 million people," Tony said.
The sheriff said the money used for mentally ill inmates could be better used elsewhere, and said the people who are now locked-up would be better served at a separate treatment facility, not a jail.
