Criminal Legal System Diversion: Creating a Behavioral Health Emergency Response System

Our emergency response system works well for health emergencies, fires, and criminal activity. But behavioral health emergencies are not well-handled by an ambulance, a fire truck, or a police officer. In fact, a 2016 Boston Globe investigation reported that hearly half of people shot and killed by police in Massachusetts have a mental health condition. Fortunately, there is much we can do to address this challenge.