MARCH 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 14
BAIL REFORM 2.0
LESS JAIL, MORE TREATMENT
BY JEFFREY L. REYNOLDS, PH.D.
President/CEO of Family and Children’s
Association
In its simplest form, bail is the amount
of money defendants must post in order
to be released from custody while
awaiting trial and pretrial hearings.
Bail is not a fi ne and was never intended to
be used as punishment, yet poor folks and
a disproportionate number of minorities
sat for months in jails having never been
convicted of a crime. Monied defendants
walked and sometimes committed additional
off enses. That’s why New York State
lawmakers, as part of last year’s budget
process, eliminated cash bail for most
misdemeanors and nonviolent off enses.
The law took effect on January 1 and
as the repeat-offender horror stories
have mounted, cops, prosecutors, constituents,
virtually every Republican,
and more than a few Democrats are
calling for a rollback that has driven
a race-tinged wedge between urban
and suburban legislators such as Long
Island’s six Democratic state senators.
New York should not abandon cash
bail reforms, but lawmakers need to do
something: Simply narrowing the list of
eligible off enses isn’t enough.
Give prosecutors and judges discretion
to consider not only fl ight risk,
but potential danger to the community.
Train them to recognize, evaluate
and address mental health issues,
and give them more anti-bias education.
Get them to do a more thorough
pretrial determination process that
includes nonmonetary options such as
electronic monitoring, day reporting,
curfews, drug testing, and most importantly,
mental health and addiction
treatment.
Those services are critical because
prior to January 1, the criminal
justice system was the catch-all
and default treatment option for
people with mental health and
substance use disorders. Parents
would sigh with relief when their
heroin-addicted sons or daughters
were arrested and people with mental
illness who once cycled in and
out of now-shuttered psychiatric
centers would visit the Nassau and
Suffolk County jails with the same
frequency. Sometimes they got help
and sometimes they didn’t.
New York State emptied its psychiatric
facilities from an inpatient census
of 93,314 in 1955 to just 2,267 in 2018.
Some of those folks got community
based care, others died, but in 2008,
a whopping 90,500 New Yorkers, many
of whom are really sick, were behind
bars in local prisons.
It’s often easier to get arrested than
it is to get help for a mental health
condition, alcoholism or drug problem.
Bail Reform 2.0 should be about
getting people out of jails and prisons,
but getting those who need help into
treatment is just as important.
POINT OF VIEW
“It’s often easier to get arrested than it is to get help.”
DIAL 988
SUICIDE HOTLINE PLANNED
BY GREG DEMETRIOU
CEO of Lorraine Gregory Communications
Sometimes the government actually
listens and helps.
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai has championed
the creation of a three-digit
national phone number for those in
critical circumstances and looking
for help. Suicide prevention has risen
to the American consciousness, which
is a good thing. The interest correlates
to the epidemic-level suicides impacting
law enforcement, first responders,
and military veterans. Suicides
outside of those segments are also on
the rise.
Prior to the establishment of the 988
national number, those seeking help
would have to dial a 10-digit number,
800-273-TALK (if they even knew it) to
access help. The new number will be
subject to extensive public relations
and marketing campaigns to raise
awareness and prompt those in crisis
to use it and quickly get connected to
help.
The importance of this change cannot
be overstated and is driven by
the numbers. In 2018 more than 2.2
million calls were received by the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
at 163 crisis centers around the
country. Also considered were the
10 million-plus American adults who
seriously contemplated committing
suicide and 1.4 million who attempted
it. Suicide rates have continued to
rise since World War II; in 2018, more
than 47,000 people died by suicide.
Making it easier for the millions of
those in need was the exact focus of
this major development. The existing
1-800-273-TALK is and has been
saving lives and will remain active
during the transition period and
beyond. The 988 number will be a
faster way for those at a most critical
time. This author believes that using
the “9” number equates to the same
psychology as using 911. Calling the
988 will be synonymous with saying,
“I need help right now.”
All major telecoms, cellular, and
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP/
phone service over the internet) will
be building out the infrastructure to
support the 988 functionalities. The
timeframe expected will be 18 months
but there is optimism that the period
will be shorter.
The FCC is required to have public
comment and analyze and foster the
projected implementation to bring
988 live across the country. Making
988 a reality is the responsibility of
all of us. Please contact the FCC at fcc.
gov/about/contact or call 1-888-CALL
FCC (225-5322) to encourage the rapid
implementation of 988.
Calling the 988 will be synonymous with saying,
'I need help right now.'”
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
