LA District Attorney Recommends Diverting Mentally Ill From Jail

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey is presenting a plan to divert low-level mentally ill offenders from jail and toward treatment.

Lacey delivered the report to the Board of Supervisors Thursday.

Among the recommendations: expanding law enforcement training to raise sensitivity and more effectively interact with the mentally ill; adding more urgent care centers to determine what services are needed; and establish detox centers for those with substance abuse issues.

Lacey called the plan the "first comprehensive attempt to fundamentally change the way we treat mentally ill people in Los Angeles County" when in contact with police.

The report notes that up to 40 percent of all use-of- force incidents involve a mentally ill person.

The board will discuss the plan Aug. 4.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)