Should police receive training in dealing with people with a mental illness?
Absolutely. They should learn to recognize the signs, but not slap a label on immediately. For example, just because a person commits murder does not mean they hear voices that tell them to kill people. But there are people with mental illness in the world, and in the justice system, so getting with the program would be a good idea. It will help them understand what they term as “the criminal mind” better. I was born with Aspergers Syndrome, which is technically a mental illness. That doesn’t make me stupid, and in fact is usually found in someone incredibly smart as well as intelligent. It was one of the reasons mine was so hard to detect. I didn’t find out until I was in tenth grade, I was so normal. I never had a criminal record, or any other type of civil disturbance. I have never been in the justice system.
