Prosecutors are charged with resolving cases in the best interests of justice. In cases involving people with mental illness, this means considering the nature of the offense, the defendant's criminal record, and the wishes of the victim, as well as relationship between the defendant's mental condition, whether the defendant was receiving adequate community treatment, and the behavior that led to the arrest. The Consensus Project recommends ways to ensure that prosecutors have the relevant information and a wide array of options to respond appropriately to these cases.

Though the Consensus Project encourages a systemic approach to improving the criminal justice system response to people with mental illness, we recognize the need for prosecutors to focus on the issues that most directly pertain to their roles. To that end, we recommend that prosecutors focus on the following sections: