What are communities doing to tackle this problem of the mentally ill ending up in America's jails and prisons?

Incidents involving the mentally ill represent between 7 and 15 percent of calls received by community police departments nationwide, according to Lt. Michael Woody (Ret.) the former director of training for the Akron Ohio Police Department. Some communities are working to divert the mentally ill from the criminal justice system by forming crisis intervention teams (CIT) made up of law enforcement officers who have received special training in how to recognize mental illness and have learned practical techniques for de-escalating volatile situations involving the mentally ill. The first CIT was set up in 1988 in Memphis, Tenn. after police shot and killed a 27-year-old mentally ill man in an incident that sparked widespread community protests. Since then, according to the Memphis Police Department's Web site, the city has seen a decrease in injuries to "consumers," and a seven-fold decline in officer injuries, as well as declining arrest rates for the mentally ill, an increased rate ...  more