Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
S. 1194, The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment And Crime Reduction Act Of 2003
Executive Business Meeting
October 23, 2003

The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act is a good bipartisan bill that would help state and local governments deal effectively with a serious law enforcement and mental health problem – the extent to which mentally ill individuals commit crimes and recidivate without ever receiving appropriate attention from the mental health, law enforcement, or corrections systems.  The New York Times reported just yesterday on a Human Rights Watch report discussing the fact “that jails and prisons have become the nation’s default mental health system.”  The first recommendation in the report was for Congress to enact this bill.

I have been pleased to work on this bill with Senator DeWine, who has shown real commitment and leadership on this issue.  I am also pleased that Senators Hatch, Durbin, and Grassley are cosponsors of this bill.

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.  The ever scarcer time of our law enforcement officers is being occupied by these offenders, who divert them from more urgent responsibilities.  Meanwhile, offenders find themselves in prisons or jails, where little or no appropriate medical care is available for them.  This bill gives state and local governments the tools to break this cycle, for the good of law enforcement, corrections officers, the public safety, and mentally ill offenders themselves.

I held a Judiciary Committee hearing last June on the criminal justice system and mentally ill offenders.  At that hearing, we heard from state mental health officials, law enforcement officers, corrections officials, and the representative of counties around our nation.  All of our witnesses agreed that people with untreated mental illness are more likely to commit crimes, and that our state mental health systems, prisons and jails do not have the resources they need to treat the mentally ill, and prevent crime and recidivism.  We know that more than 16 percent of adults incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons have a mental illness, that about 20 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have serious mental health problems, and that up to 40 percent of adults who suffer from a serious mental illness will come into contact with the American criminal justice system at some point in their lives.  We know these things, but we have not done enough about them at the Federal level, and our state and local officials need our help. 

The bill does not mandate a “one size fits all” approach to addressing this issue.  Rather, it allows grantees to use the funding authorized under the bill for mental health courts or other court-based programs, for training for criminal justice and mental health system personnel, and for better mental health treatment in our communities and within the corrections system.  The funding is also generous enough to make a real difference, with $100 million authorized for each of the next two fiscal years.  This is an area where government spending can not only do good but can also save money in the long run – a dollar spent today to get mentally ill offenders effective medical care can save many dollars in law enforcement costs in the long run. 

This bill has brought law enforcement officers and mental health professionals together, as we have seen at both of the hearings the Committee has held on this issue.  I hope it also brings together the members of this Committee.

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Related Links:

Leahy Bill To Reduce Crime And To Help Mentally Ill Clears Panel October 23, 2003