Approximately 670,000 mentally ill people are admitted to U.S. jails each year. Some mentally ill offenders must be held in jail because of the seriousness of their offenses and should receive mental health treatment while incarcerated. Many others who are mentally ill, however, have committed less serious, nonviolent offenses such as disturbing the peace, vagrancy, and trespassing. There are at least three reasons why the diversion of these individuals into community-based mental health programs would be preferable to incarceration. First, community treatment programs provide a public safety benefit by reducing the likelihood that the mentally ill offender will be rearrested. Second, community treatment programs provide a management benefit by enabling jails to operate more efficiently, to focus on keeping dangerous offenders off the streets, and to more effectively ensure the safety of jail staff and other detainees. Third, community treatment programs provide more effective mental health treatment through an array of integrated services that most jails do not offer. Diversion to treatment centers outside of jail has proven to be effective in reducing the likelihood of recidivism. 27 references