County commissioners: treat people with addiction, don’t lock them up

(Harrisburg) — County commissioners across Pennsylvania say it’s time to change the treatment for people who are addicted to drugs or suffering from a mental health disorder.

The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania says if more people who are addicted to drugs or live with a mental health disorder get help in the community instead of being thrown in jail, they’ll be more likely to recover.

In a report that would represent a major shift, they call for actively trying to keep people out of jail.

Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick says a new approach makes sense for so many reasons.

“Oftentimes, we short-change the upfront investment,” says Hartwick.

“Instead, we pay $44,000-plus a year, for somebody to be incarcerated, while they become a danger and a risk to guards, while they deceompensate, while they lose their health care benefits, they lose their job, they lose all their supports and they come back out on the street with 7 days of meds.”

The report recommends better training for police, correctional officers and juvenile justice workers, more help for judges, and additional options besides jail.

Hartwick says there will still be people who need to be locked up – but the association wants the commonwealth to be smarter on crime.

“From a safety standpoint from our guards, from a decompensation persepctive from individuals struggling with mental illness, they should not be in our county jails. I think as a society, as counties, as a community, we have to do better,” says Hartwick

He adds that medication-assisted treatment like methadone could also help keep people out of prison.

Hartwick emphasizes the report is about getting smarter, not loosening laws.

In that vein, it also argues for a more holistic approach for people who are leaving jail after serving their sentence, so they have a better chance of becoming a contributing member of society.