This is madness.
Part of the problem is that they won’t even commit the dangerously mentally ill, and so now any minor complaint gets lumped in with those who long to carve their neighbors up like a turkey.
Several decades ago the mental hospitals were phased out as a result of more effective medication. However, community mental health clinics were supposed to take up the slack and supervise the medication, but were very underfunded, so now we have large numbers of mentally ill homeless wandering in our cities. Also significant number in our prisons that ought to be in mental hospitals receiving treatment.