In the United States, people with mental health conditions are arrested and jailed at a disproportionately high rate (PDF). People incarcerated in US state prisons experience mental health disorders at a rate 3 to 12 times higher than the general population. This intersection demonstrates a higher risk of criminal legal system involvement for people who experience mental health challenges. Further exacerbating the issue, people with mental health challenges who are involved in the criminal legal system often lack the resources to receive appropriate, consistent, and comprehensive care.

This lack of care is not a coincidence, but rather the result of a history of disinvestment in mental health support. The diminishment of individualized psychiatric care and the underfunding of community-based services have made mental health support inaccessible, increasing the risk of arrest and incarceration for people with mental health conditions. Further, it has left law enforcement officers as the default responders to mental health crises. As police officers aren’t generally provided with the necessary resources and training to intervene during these crises, this de facto role can endanger them and the person experiencing a crisis. This translates to people with serious mental health disorders being more than 10 times more likely than those without to experience use of force during police encounters.

This has sparked momentum for alternative crisis response models, community-based approaches designed to provide health-centered responses to people experiencing mental health crises. It has also underscored the need for a broader range of voluntary community-based mental health resources.

While these programs have shown promise in reducing crime and increasing support in communities, it is critical that their successes are demonstrated to the public to increase their funding and use around the country. And while some data may be readily available to the public, it is important that data are presented in an accessible and digestible way. To address this need, two Catalyst Grant Program grantees, the Detroit Justice Center (DJC) and Kilómetro Cero (Km0), carried out projects to analyze and present data to their communities.

The Detroit Justice Center Visualized Data on the Intersections of Mental Health, Criminal Legal System Involvement, and Community Care

The Detroit Justice Center is a nonprofit law firm that provides direct legal services and advocates for systemic change to the criminal legal system. Through Catalyst, DJC hired data consultants and used Power BI to help collect data to assess and visualize the racial disparities in Detroit’s criminal legal system and mental health, substance use, and harm reduction landscape. The team analyzed publicly available 911 data from the City of Detroit to assess the scope of emergency mental health needs and how those needs are currently handled by police. DJC also collected data to analyze the interaction between incarceration and overdoses and analyze gender and racial disparities in mental health treatment in jails.

To complement this publicly available information, DJC also interviewed service providers whose work related to harm reduction, substance abuse, and mental health. The team then converted speech to text and used Microsoft 365 Copilot to identify key information about how service providers support community needs related to mental health, substance use, and harm reduction and what investments are needed to strengthen their efforts. These interviews generated new data on service providers’ needs and fostered a greater sense of community between the providers and DJC.

DJC presented its findings at a partner convening featuring an interactive “data gallery walk” where more than 70 stakeholders from Detroit and Wayne County could explore data visualizations on the availability of services, gaps in care, and opportunities for improvement in Detroit. The event also featured presentations, panel discussions, and breakout groups that generated insights on barriers and recommendations for how to address them through a harm reduction lens.

DJC drafted a mental health guidebook with strategic recommendations for building a more equitable and responsive system of care in Detroit, including insights generated during the data gallery walk. Those recommendations included divesting from carceral approaches (i.e., those related to jails and prisons) that inflict harm and instead implementing harm reduction approaches at all levels of care, using voluntary and noncoercive service models, and prioritizing collaboration between systems and communities to build solutions for public health and well-being that are guided by the people most affected.

Kilómetro Cero Analyzed Police Use-of-Force Data to Reveal Systemic Failures in Mental Health and Emotional Crisis Interventions in Puerto Rico

Kilómetro Cero, a nonprofit based in Puerto Rico, advocates for a culture of accountability and citizen oversight of law enforcement by documenting police use of force, collecting and publishing data, and educating communities. Through Catalyst, Km0 analyzed official Puerto Rico Police use-of-force records obtained through public information requests to examine police interventions involving individuals in mental health or emotional crisis. After analyzing 4,494 incidents of police use of force between 2016 and 2022, Km0 discovered systemic shortcomings, irregular patterns of police violence, excessive use of force, and disproportionate harm to people affected by poverty and racial inequality.

Km0 published its findings in a 2025 report, El tercer castigo: entre la irracionalidad y la peligrosidad. Km0 also hosted an immersive community exhibition, La historia sería otra, which allowed the public to learn and engage with the findings and testimonies from survivors and families of people who died as a result of police use of force during emotional or mental health crises. The exhibition drew on materials from Evidencia la Violencia, Km0’s community-based data platform that documents instances of violent, discriminatory, and irregular actions by public safety officials in Puerto Rico.

Km0’s project demonstrates why the dissemination and accessibility of police use-of-force data is so important. Increased transparency in police use of force in Puerto Rico is now being used to spur increased police accountability, support for alternative mental health crisis interventions, and community partnerships to encourage transformations and better resources for people experiencing mental health challenges.

Lessons Learned

These two projects yielded the following takeaways for other organizations seeking to build awareness of the intersection between people’s mental health needs and the criminal legal system and generate support for community-based alternative responses:

• There is a need for more culturally responsive and noncarceral strategies that prioritize harm reduction, and it is essential to center community members when developing solutions—particularly people whose lives have been shaped by systemic responses to mental health and substance use needs. Data gallery walks are a powerful tool for gathering community insights and generating actionable ideas.
• Collecting and analyzing data can help organizations build awareness and educate the public on key community issues through written reports, fact sheets, and videos shared online.
• Data can inform community organizations’ and coalitions’ policy strategies, advocacy campaigns with elected officials, and budget and community reinvestment priorities.
• Sustained cross-sector collaboration is crucial for addressing gaps in mental health, substance use, and harm reduction services. Community organizations should proactively develop plans for continuous engagement with other organizations.
• Community organizations interested in undertaking research and data projects can benefit from the help of advisors with expertise in data collection, analysis, and visualization.
• Consistent funding is needed to build and expand the types of community-driven solutions proposed by the Detroit Justice Center and Kilómetro Cero. When financial resources are not available, organizations must think creatively and explore other sources of community-based support.

The Catalyst Grant Program supported the efforts of nonprofit organizations to use data and technology to advance racial equity and reform in the adult criminal legal system. Visit the Catalyst Grant Program Insights page for more resources and stories about the grantees.