Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said addressing the mental health issues of people within the county is a crucial step in lowering incarceration.
Hollenbeck, who has lobbied for increased mental health treatment in Sebastian County and the state of Arkansas in the past, outlined steps presently taken in the county and ones that need to be taken to ensure people do not end up in jail because of a mental health episode. He said incarcerating someone who is not in full control of his or her mental faculties can have "a disastrous outcome" both during the arrest and incarceration.
The link between mental health and incarceration has been documented on a national level. A 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics study noted that 75 percent of female inmates and 63 percent of male inmates in local jails had what the study called "mental health problems."
The same study noted that more than one in six jail inmates with at least one mental health problem in the United States had received treatment since being admitted to a facility.
In 2017, 2,123 of the 14,030 inmates who spent time in the Sebastian County Jail — more than 15 percent — had been treated for "either acute or chronic" mental health issues while in the jail. These mental health issues range from common diagnoses like clinical depression or general anxiety disorder all the way up to disorders like paranoid schizophrenia, Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck said an incident involving someone who is having a mental health-related episode often escalates when a law enforcement official is called to the scene.
"Historically, we haven’t given the law enforcement officers the tools or the options to have when it comes to dealing with mental health," he said. "The only option, sometimes, that we have, unfortunately, is incarceration.”
Because of this reality, Hollenbeck said de-escalation tactics are important for officers and deputies who address people who are having mental health-related episodes. He said the county will be training officers in how to handle these individuals in such a way that ensures their own safety and the safety of nearby civilians.
"Historically, we’ve been trained with command presence, and how to deal with individuals in a certain way," he said. "Sometimes, that training has made things worse."
Hollenbeck also said he and other county employees plan to divert potential offenders with mental health issues through the county's Crisis Stabilization Unit, which is set to open in mid- to late February.
Practically speaking, Hollenbeck said he expects the Crisis Stabilization Unit to yield a fiscally conservative outcome.
"When you talk about saving tax dollars, how expensive is it compared to, say, 10 years in prison, or let’s say, five to seven days of stabilization and mental health treatment?" he said.
Along with treating mental health needs, Hollenbeck said the Crisis Stabilization Unit will also address a broader pattern seen in arrestees. He said a big reason that people avoid going to jail is because they have a fear of incarceration, and that the Crisis Stabilization Unit is an alternative option.
"Once you’re incarcerated, you lose that fear," he said. "You get used to your environment."
Hollenbeck also said that diverting people to the Crisis Stabilization Unit will keep arrestees at a misdemeanor level. He said people who offend during a mental health-related episode often offend on this level.
"They’re not going to reoffend and then reoffend and then eventually get that felony charge," he said.