... Part of the police peacekeeping function is responding to mentally ill persons. Responding to mentally ill persons involves use of police discretion. Police must use discretion because the law overreaches. ... The number of mentally ill persons has increased because of deinstitutionalization and cutback’s in Federal mental health funding. ... The police role in handling mentally ill persons is based upon two common law principles: (1) the responsibility of police officers to protect the safety and welfare of the community, and (2) parens patriae, which prescribes the safety for disabled citizens i. ... a mentally ill person. ... The police must exercise discretion when making his/her decision in choosing the most appropriate disposition. ... Officer’s have three choices when encountering a mentally ill person that is creating a disturbance: (1) transport the person to a mental hospital, or (2) arrest the person, or (3) resolve the matter informally. ... Sending a mentally ill person to the hospital is easier said than done.
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