Law enforcement increasingly likely to avoid mental health calls

In California and across the country there’s a growing push to minimize the role police play when someone is in the throes of a mental health crisis. Too often, those incidents can result in the person being injured by police — and a federal court ruling has inspired fresh police concerns about their liability.

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper recently responded with a dramatic policy change. His deputies won’t be responding to those calls unless a crime is in progress or the person in crisis has already committed a crime or placed someone else in imminent danger.

• Susanna, a mother frustrated when help didn’t come: “Who is going to assist my family in these situations, and not only my family, but other families like mine, whose child might be more aggressive or might actually kill them or hurt them very badly? Who is going to step in and stop that before it’s too late?”

Already, some other police agencies around the state are following his lead.

• Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, president of the California State Sheriffs Association: “We’re not in the profession of white coats coming out to take somebody to the hospital.”

CalMatters contributor Lee Romney explores what this means for family members of people with serious mental illness, and to firefighters and social workers who rely on police for backup.

Lee also examines the quieter decision by other police and sheriffs’ departments to step back after they arrive on the scene. When that happened to one desperate mother who needed to get her son to the hospital for urgent treatment, she resorted to hiring a bounty hunter to do it.

The good news: There are other promising approaches.

But, as Lee reports, there will always be a role for well-trained law enforcement officers: When someone in crisis has a weapon or is exceptionally volatile, for instance, and when those who meet the legal criteria for involuntary psychiatric care are unwilling — or unable due to psychosis or substance abuse — to consent to care.

Read more here.

Under President Donald Trump, the federal government has cancelled millions of dollars worth of grants to organizations that help victims of violent crimes get back on their feet — putting some of the most vulnerable Californians at risk, writes CalMatters’ Cayla Mihalovich.

Last week the U.S. Justice Department cut $811 million in grants that went toward victim services and violence prevention — including more than $80 million to California organizations.

A spokesperson for the justice department said that while the department will “always protect victims of crime and legitimate law enforcement initiatives,” it will “no longer spend millions on ‘listening sessions’ and ‘bridging socio-ecological contexts.’”

Criminal justice reform advocates argue that these services aren’t a luxury, but rather part of a holistic approach to public safety. The Asian Women’s Shelter, for example, lost its three-year $500,000 grant, which went towards connecting Arab survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking with legal and social services. 

• Saara Ahmed, the shelter’s communications and community engagement specialist: “The irony is that the reasons given by the Justice Department is that they’re shifting funding toward law enforcement to combat violent crime and trafficking. But violent crime and trafficking affects survivors so there’s a lot of contradiction. It’s a matter of asking: Whose safety and security are they prioritizing?”

Read more here.

Plummeting salmon populations have forced California to shut down its commercial salmon fishing season for a third year in a row. Though some experts say efforts like this offer a glimmer of hope for the species to rebound, residents who rely on salmon fishing are weighing the possibility that the species may never fully recover — and they must seek other opportunities to keep their livelihoods afloat.

As CalMatters’ Alastair Bland explains, before the mid-2000s, Chinook salmon harvests in some California coastal towns, including Bodega Bay, were abundant and lucrative. But a combination of diverting water from the Delta, the loss of river habitat and poor ocean conditions have driven the species to the brink of collapse over the last two decades.

As the fishing economy in Bodega Bay shrinks, businesses are doing their best to adjust: Local restaurants have dropped salmon from the menu — instead featuring farmed or imported clams, oysters and shrimp — while boats that once offered fishing are turning into cruises or whale-watching expeditions. 

• Mike Long, who ran a Bodega Bay fishing charter company for eight years: “Bodega Bay back in the day when the salmon were running … was an absolute party, people were camping, having fun. From a fishing standpoint, Bodega Bay has become a ghost town.”

Read more here.