Report faults District’s treatment of mentally ill people in criminal justice system

Professionals without proper training are deciding whether suspected criminals in the District are competent to stand trial and patients are being unnecessarily held at the public psychiatric hospital, according to a report released Monday.

The 191-page report, by the nonprofit Council for Court Excellence and the D.C. auditor, examined the way the city's Department of Behavioral Health handles defendants suspected of being mentally ill. The authors presented their findings Monday at an oversight hearing of the D.C. Council.