Macomb County prosecutor seeks in-person mental health evaluations at jail

Oct. 29—The Macomb County prosecutor is advocating for that part of the proposed 2023 county budget should include allocations for in-person psychiatric evaluations at the county jail in order to ensure those who require mental health care receive it.

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said the evaluations would not only save the county money on having to transport individuals for competency evaluations, but it would also ensure that those who can quickly be evaluated as not competent to stand trial to receive the help they need rather than extend their pretrial incarceration.

In a news release Thursday, Lucido said it makes sense to streamline health evaluations as part of a $100 million jail renovation. It can take several months to get an evaluation and results from the evaluations, according to Lucido's office.

"A person suffering from mental health issues should not be forced to wait in jail months before being cleared for criminal prosecution, or sent to treatment," Lucido told The Detroit News.

According to the Council of State Governments Justice Center, at least 17% of people in local jails have a serious mental illness, substance use disorder or both.

As the county looks at more than $100 million in jail-related projects, including an intake center, Lucido said this is a no brainer for improving the jail and helping those with mental health issues.

"If they're not competent, how are they going to assist in their defense?" Lucido said. "How are they going to assist the defense lawyer in trying to build a defense? They can't."

Lucido said he is going to discuss his ideas with commissioners as part of the budget review process as he has not been consulted by the county on jail improvements.

The assessments under the current system can take several months to create a report. Prior to COVID-19, court-ordered evaluation referrals were conducted in person by a psychiatrist at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Saline. Since then, the evaluations have been happening over Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lucido said it's not effective to determine competency over Zoom.

"I can't even fathom this, because of the pandemic, the Zoom (competency assessments) started," Lucido said. "We don't try cases on Zoom, because we know people's body language, they can be coached."

The county board of commissioners are set to finalize the budget on Nov. 23. The proposed 2023 budget totals $1.1 billion and calls for the addition of 50 new positions, with nearly half of those jobs in the Sheriff's Office.

anichols@detroitnews.com

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