Gwinnett sheriff says task force will stop criminalizing mental illness
Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office creates mental health task force
The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office Mental Health Task Force hopes to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. The task force will offer intervention and advocacy to end the migration of the mentally ill into the criminal justice system.
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office now has its own mental health task force.
Sheriff Keybo Taylor said the goal is to help stop the criminalization of mental illness.
The team of deputies and doctors will respond to 911 calls if someone appears to suffer from a mental illness rather than overt criminal behavior.
Right now, the deputies are in the process of undergoing extensive training in areas like crisis intervention, recognition of mental illness, and personality disorders.
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The plan is to have them on the street by mid-August.
"The jails had become more of a holding tank for people with mental illness. Historically we have not put the proper amount of resources toward dealing with mental health issues. We've been so reactive just based upon answering the calls," Sheriff Taylor said.
The task force will also provide support to other metro Atlanta law enforcement agencies. That includes the Gwinnett County Police Department which also recently announced a program to provide on-scene intervention for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
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