Criminal justice support
According to the American Psychological Association, mental illness among today’s inmates is pervasive, with 50 percent or more of jail and state prison inmates nationwide reporting a mental health concern. Substance misuse is also common and often occurs alongside a mental health issue.
Lakeview Center offers both specialized training for law enforcement officers, as well as mental health and substance misuse care designed for those involved in the criminal or juvenile justice systems.
Crisis intervention training for law enforcement
Lakeview Center provides crisis intervention training to help law enforcement partners recognize when someone has a mental disorder and respond more effectively during an encounter. The goal of this 40-hour training is to divert people with mental illness away from unnecessary incarceration and into the appropriate treatment.
More than 1,100 officers proudly wear their Eagle pins while on duty, showing that they have graduated from crisis intervention training.
Lakeview Center works closely with all law enforcement agencies, the courts and the corrections system. Collaborating with our community partners, we can steer clients toward helpful resources to rebuild their lives. Ultimately these efforts will help:
- Improve public safety
- Reduce recidivism
- Minimize spending
- Reverse the criminalization of mental illness
- Improve the overall well-being of the community
For more information about crisis intervention training, call 850-490-4349.
Working with law enforcement agencies
In addition to training, Lakeview Center collaborates with our agency partners within law enforcement to provide behavioral health care and substance misuse treatment to those in the criminal justice system. This includes:
- Coordinating with jail staff to minimize disruption to treatment for current clients and to facilitate access to treatment for new clients
- Working with courts to secure conditional releases for non-violent offenders so that they may receive treatment
- Providing oversight and treatment within the community for clients whose felony cases resulted in findings of “not guilty by reason of insanity“ or ”incompetent to proceed”
- Working to restore competency for clients with felonies who do not require incarceration or admission to a Florida state hospital
Helping juvenile justice clients
For youth in the juvenile justice system, our Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (TASC) team conducts substance misuse and mental health assessments. The Department of Juvenile Justice submits referrals to our program. TASC provides assessments, referrals, case monitoring and links to the appropriate treatment, as well as recommendations for treatment to the probation officers. TASC works closely with the courts, criminal justice agencies and our partners in the treatment community toward the mutual goal of helping reduce childhood delinquency and making communities safer.
