When Oneida County Sheriff’s Office deputies respond to a call involving someone with mental health issues, they have a lot to consider. Sheriff Robert Maciol said it’s one of the most challenging type of calls they get.

“At the end of the day, we are not mental health experts in any way whatsoever," he said. Still, they are some of the first to respond to mental health emergencies.

They prefer when people volunteer to be mentally evaluated. But if not, then Maciol said law enforcement members have the right to take a person in for an evaluation against their wishes.

“Typically, that's the route that law enforcement takes," Maciol said. "The normal protocol when someone is taken into custody under the mental health law, they're transported immediately to a mental health facility that could do an evaluation. And obviously, it's the emergency room,"

Maciol said at that point, it used to be that a psychiatrist or mental health professional would perform the evaluation, and if further evaluation was needed, the person would stay for three days.

That’s not always the case now.

“That sometimes isn't always available," Maciol said. "So you may end up with a physician who is not real familiar with mental health treatment and diagnosis, I should say. So, you know, sometimes people are, you know, allowed to walk freely when they probably weren't ready to."

Maciol said it’s a heavy load on hospitals, though.

“There's only 5,000 mental health beds statewide. That includes New York City, statewide for adults. There's less than 250 mental health beds for children," said Maciol.

Maciol said more funding is needed in the state for mental health treatment. He said some people don’t need to be committed to a facility, but they’re also not ready to transition back into the community. Then, he said, some find themselves committing a crime and being taken into custody.

“Sadly, there is no in-between right now, the way our system is set up," he said. "So that's how we end up here. On the other side of the house here at the sheriff's office, we end up with many people in our custody at the sheriff's office, in our correctional facility, with mental health illness, because there is nowhere else for them."

Like other facilities, Maciol said the Oneida County jail is mandated to and has contracts with a medical provider and a mental health provider. He urged lawmakers to invest in helping people who struggle with mental health issues.

Maciol hopes to have a trained member of the sheriff’s office along with a Mobile Crisis Assessment Team member to work together and respond to calls. He also hopes to follow up with people who receive mental health treatment. He said the stigma surrounding mental health needs to be removed.