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Mental health crisis in our criminal justice system

Alisa Roth spoke to an audience at Metro State University on how America’s criminal justice system developed and what we can do to improve it’s treatment of mental illness. She shared some insights on mental health, policing and incarceration.

‘Excited delirium’ cited in Floyd case, and in other deaths involving law enforcement

Chauvin’s attorneys may argue that excited delirium contributed to Floyd’s death. Law enforcement officials and others say excited delirium usually happens to people who have been using drugs or who have a serious mental illness. It may be seen when a person is held in a chokehold, hog-tied, or Tasered.

Prosecutor: Deputy ‘ignored the law and ignored the training’ when he shot suicidal man

But attorneys for Washington County sheriff’s deputy say Brian Krook had to shoot 23-year-old Benjamin Evans to protect himself, other deputies and the public

Alisa Roth, MPR NewsKatherine IchinoseMarch 11, 2020criminal justice, policing, mental health crises

'FACT' teams aim to keep people with mental illness out of jail

When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, often the only alternatives are jail or an emergency room. Neither of those alternatives is particularly helpful, and sometimes they can make a person’s condition worse. Nationwide, cities and counties are searching for cheaper and more therapeutic options.

Alisa Roth, MPR NewsKatherine IchinoseSeptember 18, 2019prisons, criminal justice, hospitalization

It’s more than just detox — Hennepin County has a new alternative to jail or ER for mental health crises

For a long time, the address 1800 Chicago in Minneapolis has been synonymous with detox. As in, end-of-the-road, hit-rock-bottom detox. Now Hennepin County is turning the facility into a one-stop shop for services ranging from detox to mental health care to help signing up for low-income housing. It’s designed to keep people with mental health and substance use problems out of jail and hospitals.

Alisa Roth on the criminalization of mental illness

MPR's mental health reporter Alisa Roth gives the keynote address at a Hamline University conference on the "Criminalization of Mental Illness."

In St. Cloud, a new approach to dealing with mental health crises -- in jail and out

Stearns County officials estimate nearly two-thirds of people in the jail on any given day have a mental illness, either diagnosed or not .So Stearns County, along with CentraCare, local law enforcement and the St. Cloud VA, formed an action team of police, human services, probation agents and mental health workers. They meet and compare notes on people in jail or in the community who might benefit from intervention.