Many times a criminal is caught and it is discovered that this person suffers from mental health issues.
According to RCMP, these folks need to be treated a little differently than mainstream society. The RCMP now have a mental health officer working with them; it’s a start, but unless Interior Health and the province build facilities to treat those with mental illness and the addictions, I’m afraid not much will change.
I would like to say for the record, that I have genuine sympathy for those who have mental health issues and manage to stay away from street drugs. I also have sympathy for those who have mental illness who turn to street drugs in order to try and cope.
I do not, however, have any sympathy whatsoever towards those who started using street drugs, and then developed psychosis because of it. This particular group should not be treated with kid gloves. Please don’t tell me you come from a broken home; three of the friends I grew up with were from broken homes, and all earn well over $100,000 per year today.
I wonder how many criminals that we keep turning back loose onto the street fall into the latter category? It would be interesting to know.
Mark Billesberger
Penticton
