NORMAL - Chief Circuit Judge Elizabeth Robb estimates about 50 percent of the people who appear in McLean County's criminal court have mental illness. "That's conservative," she said. "If you include substance abuse, it's about 75 percent." | Communities struggle to care for mentally ill residents | Mentally ill inmates receive in-house care

Her long-range goal is to establish a McLean County mental health court that would divert qualifying offenders from jail time if they successfully complete program steps. In the meantime, she is working with local police agencies to provide training for officers who often have the first contact with such people.

The seminars help officers identify people suffering from mental illness and educate them on the legal alternatives to taking those people to jail.

"We want to train every officer to help them identify mental health issues on the street and to help them formulate a decision to charge (the offender) or lock them up overnight," said Normal Police Chief Kent Crutcher.

"We still want the officers to do their jobs safely," he said. "But I think there's a big difference between someone committing a crime who knows what they are doing and a mental health patient who doesn't."

The county has a process to help offenders with mental illness who end up serving jail time. However, those offenders often fall back into their old habits once they are released because there are not enough mental health resources to handle the need quickly.

"It can take more than two weeks for an intake to see a therapist," said Nikki Wilder, program coordinator for the Center for Human Services Crisis Team.

Robb thinks a mental health court could be a better solution - at least for some. The mental health court would be fashioned after the county's year-old drug court.

But such a program costs money and right now, that's at a premium.

"I'm not going to divert scarce resources to a new program and take away from existing programs," Robb said.

Instead, she is working with Normal, Bloomington and Illinois State University police departments and McLean County sheriff's police to make the current system work better. That's where the training comes in.

Officers from each department have a chance to attend a one-day training course offered at Heartland Community College through the Law and Justice Commission's Mobile Training Unit 8.

The first session was Tuesday. Another is planned June 9.

The course is taught by Mark Benson, a licensed clinical professional counselor. He currently is a counselor at Illinois Wesleyan University but previously was program manager for the crisis team and a crisis intervention specialist at Tazwood Mental Health Center.

Benson gives the class "a general overview" of mental health including symptoms of schizophrenia, depression and bipolar and personality disorders; ways to deal with people suffering from those illnesses; and a list of common drugs used to treat the problems.

If someone suffers from schizophrenia and hears voices, Benson said, "They can't tell if I'm talking to them or the voice is." He suggested police dealing with such a person should ask simple questions and get them away from a crowd and distractions.

Asking about specific medications may also help officers determine whether someone has a mental illness, he said.

Benson also encouraged police to call the crisis team for help or to take someone to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation if there is a question about mental stability.

A new law that goes into effect Sunday will make that easier to do, he said. The law will no longer require proof that a person is in imminent risk of causing serious harm to himself or others to be involuntarily placed in a treatment facility.

Crutcher said after the training is completed, the police chiefs and the sheriff will meet to develop a plan all departments can use for dealing with police calls that involve someone suffering from a mental illness. That includes coordinating with available service providers.

"My belief is that this is not just a criminal justice system problem, it's countywide," said Robb. "It will take the resources of all the various agencies in coordination."