COURT HOUSE – During his remarks at the conclusion of the Aug. 1 Middle Township Committee meeting, Mayor Timothy Donohue felt the need to reassure the public that the municipality is doing all it can to fight a rise in petty crime in certain sections of the municipality.
Acknowledging that petty crime is all too frequently linked with issues of mental illness, Donohue faulted the state for not stepping up on treatment and handling of individuals with mental disorders who may pose concerns for public safety.
Donohue said individuals brought to the county’s only acute care hospital in Court House often pass evaluations that they are not a physical threat to themselves and others and are “released right here in Court House,” implying that some of them then become perpetrators of small-time crime.
Donohue also pulled no punches in his criticism of the many directives on policing that have come from the state Attorney General’s Office. These directives, he argued, “tie the hands of police” and limit how they can respond to petty crime.
