thank you. >> thank you, sheriff staneck. our final witness on this panel is andrew peralta, national president of the national latino peace officers association. sir? >> thank you. my name is andrew peralta, also a lieutenant with the las vegas metropolitan police department. i'm sure you know we're no stranger to the process with the department of justice and the cops office, so i've actually had the privilege of being involved in a lot of is that change, so thank you. i'm also the national president with the national latino peace officers association founded in 1974. i want to point out that we believe the vast majority of cops that hire on today hire on for good reason good intentions, want to do good things in the community president but the reason we exist as a national organization is because of these very issues we're looking although talking about today. they were recognized back in 1972 by two of our founders in california. they founded this organization to try and help tackle some of these issues in the hispanic co

as rick staneck the hannepin county sheriff said, mental health jails are the largest in the state of minnesota. unfortunately, this holds across the nation. and the burden of the criminal justice system serving as a substitute mental health system goes beyond our prisons every day, our police are called upon to intervene in potentially life-threatening mental health crisises and our courts are overwhelmed with cases of people with untreated mental illnesses. this doesn't make sense for public safety and it certainly doesn't make sense for taxpayers who are stuck with a difficult for overcrowded prisons. and the cost of addressing mental health needs within the criminal justice system, and just the incredible waste, including human -- the waste of human capital the waste of human beings, lives and time. in the face of these realities, we need -- we need to take a comprehensive approach. elected officials and stakeholders at the local, state and federal level must work together to address the unique needs of persons with mental health conditions in the justice system. we also remember