Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido has proposed a plan to streamline court ordered mental health evaluations.
He said his plan would put qualified local, licensed professionals at the Macomb County Jail to perform competency and culpability evaluations to be funded as part of a $100 million jail project under review by the Macomb County Commission.
Courts use these evaluations to determine if defendants are able to participate in their own defense or can be found criminally at fault for certain crimes, he said.
Lucido said he will discuss his proposal with commissioners as part of the 2023 budget review process.
“It would be crazy not to streamline mental health evaluations as part of a $100 million jail renovation,” said Lucido. “A person suffering from mental health issues should not be forced to wait in jail months before being cleared for criminal prosecution, or sent to treatment.”
Prior to COVID-19, court ordered evaluation referrals were completed in person by a psychiatrist at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Saline. Since the start of the pandemic, Lucido noted, such evaluations have been done via Zoom while defendants remain at the county jail.
Lucido said jury trials cannot be done via Zoom, so psychiatric evaluations should not solely be done by Zoom either.
Lucido said his office is considering asking judges to order in-person psychiatric evaluations to occur at the county jail as he seeks a faster turn-around time.
He said the goal is to let culpable and competent defendants face prosecution sooner, while letting those needing mental health care get it faster.
The board of commissioners is currently reviewing over a $100 million request from the county executive for a central intake facility at the Macomb County jail and an additional $5 million in jail improvements.
Lucido said he wants the county plan to include qualified local, licensed professionals at the Macomb County Jail to perform competency and culpability evaluations.
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