Those in law enforcement are continually bombarded with demands from constituents who want their concerns to be given top priority, mandated training, new resources, or revised protocols. We also know that officers and other police personnel are frustrated with repeat calls for service that have no satisfactory resolution for anyone involved. They want to address problems before they escalate into confrontations that can have deadly consequences.  They want to use their resources effectively and efficiently. At the end of the day, they want to improve the lives of people who struggle with mental illness as well as all those touched by the consequences of unmet mental health needs. It is for them that this section has been written. 

Police are frequently the only 24-hour service providers citizens in a community know to contact for help.  Many police departments lack the resources or mental health networks to reduce the costs - in human lives, quality of life, and dollars. It is hoped that this report will assist them in finding more immediate help to divert those who are better served by the mental health system, without threat to public safety.  For those individuals whose needs continue to go unmet, there is still hope that the reforms suggested in the following sections on courts and corrections will prevent them from cycling back to the streets, no better off than when they started.  These subsequent chapters, in addition to the chapters in Part Two: Overarching Themes, will help police professionals and others fully understand how the actions of one component of the criminal justice system can so significantly affect others. The report presents creative strategies for collaboration and propose the kind of mutual support that can convince policymakers to make the reforms that each of them has unsuccessfully pressed for individually.