DETROIT: Vulnerable children and the elderly are being locked up in police cells as a substitute for social and health care, according to a recently published report.
The new report found that units were often full of children and vulnerable older adults, rather than people accused of crimes.
Inspectors said too many children and vulnerable older adults were being detained by police who felt under pressure to make arrests.
The report said frontline police officers and custody officers were also spending significant amounts of time caring for people who were mentally unwell and, on too many occasions, police were the default response for vulnerable people in crisis…