Santa Clara County and San Jose State community members say how police officers respond to mental health crises stems from a state law written more than 50 years ago.
The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act was established in 1967 to ensure a right to prompt psychiatric evaluation and treatment in some situations, according to a Jan. 8, 2018 article by Disability Rights California, which is the federal agency dedicated to protecting and advocating for Californians with disabilities.
As of June 2021, 43% of state prisoners and 23% of federal prisoners historically had mental health issues, according to a Bureau of Justice Statistics article.
Kat Adamson, SJSU sociology senior and Students Against Mass Incarceration president, said she thinks those diagnosed with mental health issues are incarcerated because the U.S. doesn’t have a strong system of mental health services.
“[People with mental illnesses] don’t need to be in jail. They need to be getting care and therapy and potentially medication to stabilize,” Adamson said. “We always default to throwing people into jail or prison for often doing things that shouldn’t even really be crimes.”
Most interactions between the criminal justice system and people diagnosed with mental illness involve nonviolent misdemeanors, such as trespassing, loitering or creating a public disturbance, according to a webpage from Maryville University.
Mental Health Crisis Response
John Costa, one of the three police liaisons for Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services, said the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act’s intent was to give patients greater autonomy and decisions in their own lives.
He said one of the act’s unintended outcomes was that it engaged law enforcement and the justice system to a higher level.
“In some respects, one could argue that we traded mental institutions and hospitals for our county jail and state prison system,” Costa said.
Adamson said many people usually call the police to respond to someone experiencing a mental health crisis because “they don’t know what else to do.”
Sandra Hernandez, Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services licensed clinical social worker, said many people call 988 for different reasons.
Hernandez said some people in distress call on their own accords because they’re aware they’re in a distressing situation.
“You can have people – what we say are ‘self-referred,’ ” she said. “They call for themselves and they say, ‘You know, I don’t feel good. I don’t feel right. Something’s wrong.’ ”
Hernandez said usually it’s a family member or a friend who calls because they have concerns for a loved one and they can identify crises better because they know the person experiencing them.
She said it can be very concerning for many people to start seeing mental illness signs or symptoms, also known as “first breaks.”
Hernandez said first breaks can manifest into more severe mental illnesses and can start occurring in younger adults between the ages 16-25 years old.
“So then people go, ‘They’ve never acted this way before. They’re up, now they haven’t slept for three or four days. They’re not eating, they’re not showering. They don’t want to get out of bed. They’re crying all the time,’ ” she said.
Hernandez also said bystanders sometimes call to report that there’s someone in public who appears to be acting unusual.
She said sometimes the call can also come from law enforcement asking for additional services.
Hernandez said different emergency resources determine whether Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services needs to do a response in the field or if they need to respond through phone call.
“Maybe they just need some direction,” she said. “Maybe they need to talk to somebody but it hasn’t reached a point where things are so out of control that they’re requiring more than that. So it’s going to vary.”
Law Enforcement’s Response
SJSU UPD Capt. Michael Santos said officers respond to calls related to mental health issues by using three criterias to assess whether or not someone is experiencing a crisis.
Santos said those criterias include determining whether or not a person is a danger to themselves, a danger to others or gravely disabled.
That criteria comes from the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, according to the Disability Rights California article.
It also sets a strict due process of protections for mental health clients, according to the same article.
The act defines being “gravely disabled” as someone who is no longer able to provide their own food, clothing or shelter for themselves because of a mental illness, according to the same Disability Rights California article.
Santos said although UPD officers are not clinicians, they’re trained in crisis intervention techniques and should be able to identify whether or not somebody is in a mental health crisis.
He said if UPD officers respond to a call where there may be an issue related to mental illness, UPD is expected to use the criteria to determine whether or not the person of interest needs to be transported.
Santos also said sometimes UPD finds that the person of interest is being cared for by SJSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services and contacts it to continue treatment.
Santos said UPD may also contact other resources including SJSU Cares.
He also said UPD should provide a 72-hour mental hold, which is expected to include emergency psychiatric services to determine what additional care the person may need, if they respond to someone who appears to be disabled and having a mental health crisis.
The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act states if someone is taken into a 72-hour hold, also known as a “5150 hold,” they should be taken to a mental health facility where medical professionals can evaluate them, according to the Disability Rights California article.
By the end of the 72 hours, the person is expected to either be released, according to the same article.
They may also choose to stay at the mental health facility as a signed-voluntary patient, be put on a two week hold – also known as a “certification for intensive treatment” – or they may be referred into a conservatorship, according to the Disability Rights California article.
A Lanterman-Petris-Short Conservatorship is when a court appoints a person to make certain legal decisions for another person, according to the article.
That means a conservator may be able to determine whether or not a person should start or stop taking psychiatric medications or accept other medical treatment, according to the Disability Rights California article.
Santos said UPD is planning to work with a licensed clinician to help the department establish a Psychiatric Emergency Response Team.
He said the clinician is expected to be paired with one officer.
Santos said together, they should be the ones responsible for responding to mental health calls for service.
He said UPD is also intending to have that team be operational and available to the SJSU community by Fall.
“Right now, [law enforcement and mental health professionals] are kind of unraveling that and exploring other ways, changing the culture, again, how certainly law enforcement will respond,” Costa said. “There’s many factors that go into the aftermath of [the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act].”
Kat Adamson said she thinks a lot more could be done.
She said the government needs to approve more grants to pay for mental health professionals.
Adamson said she thinks the government should pay for more beds, space and more overall funding to support people diagnosed with mental illness.
“You can help support people but people in severe crises need stabilization,” Adamson said. “They need areas where they can be taken care of in a safe and adequate facility and that'll help them stay out of jails and prisons.”
