About a year before she was elected district attorney, Lacey learned about the arrest of a college student the same age as her daughter. The woman began to experience symptoms of mental illness, and believing she was in danger, fled from her apartment and struggled to wrest ignition keys from the owner of a nearby car. The DA's office charged her with felony carjacking.
"I don't see those circumstances as criminal," Lacey said. "I see her as someone who was sick who needed to get help." But the only way prosecutors could ensure any sort of follow-up was to tag the woman as a felon, as misdemeanor probation offers little to nothing in the way of monitoring.
There had to be better alternatives, so as DA, Lacey began the long task of building them. Under her watch, the county opened five new collaborative courts that offer the monitoring Lacey sees as key, and L.A. County's Office of Diversion and Re-Entry is about to bring 1,000 supportive housing units online. Her office helped the Department of Mental Health open five urgent care centers where cops can take offenders to instead of jail. An academy in the DA's office also trains police on how to de-escalate situations with mentally ill suspects. Her Criminal Justice Mental Health Advisory Board's new report outlines strategy goals for dealing with mentally ill offenders, from first contact with law enforcement to placement in long-term treatment.
"A prosecutor's biggest fear is they'll give someone a break, and that person will go out and hurt someone," Lacey said. But Lacey is working to implement policies that allow deviation from the standard response when it comes to the mentally ill.
She's seen pushback, in the form of, "Who cares if they're drug addicted, who cares if they have mental illness — bottom line is they broke the law, they need to go to jail." But Lacey calls this short-sighted, and not in accordance with a DA's mission of seeking justice.
Lacey said being a prosecutor who's pushing for alternatives to prosecution gives her added power. "I think that by lending my voice to the leadership of this effort, it has moved the ball further along than ever."
— L.J. Williamson
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
jeremy@reprintpros.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 949-702-5390
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com