Public safety is more than patrol cars, jail cells, and courtrooms. It requires building strong partnerships with health care systems that can prevent crises before they escalate, offer timely intervention, and invest in treatment.

Every day, my deputies encounter individuals in acute mental health or behavioral crises. They may be disoriented, overwhelmed, or in deep distress. It can trigger dangerous situations for the men and women of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Even a minor infraction can lead to detention, and while we have mental health professionals in our jails, a jail cell is not ideal for treatment. 

That’s why our partnership with Valleywise Health is so important. As Maricopa County’s only public teaching hospital and a crucial safety-net system, Valleywise conducts the court-ordered mental health evaluations and treatments that our justice system depends on. Over the last ten years, mental health cases processed through the courts have increased by 169%. It has prompted the opening of a second mental health courtroom at Valleywise’s Maryvale facility to handle the demand. 

In 2012, there were around 4,000 new petitions for court-ordered evaluations and 3,000 for treatment. By 2021, those numbers had soared to 10,000 and 4,500, respectively. This dramatic increase demonstrates the need for more capacity, better facilities, and faster access to care.

But our fast-growing population has outpaced our funding and facilities. Across Valleywise’s four behavioral health centers, there are just 412 treatment beds in active use. These numbers fall far short of current needs, especially with demand surging across the Valley.

This is where Proposition 409 becomes a game-changer. It will:

• Build a new, 200-bed behavioral health hospital, replacing the aging 50-year-old annex, effectively doubling behavioral health inpatient capacity.
• Expand court-ordered evaluation and treatment space, ensuring mental health cases move more efficiently while protecting public safety.
• Modernize emergency and trauma services, ensuring victims, first responders, and community members get the timely, specialized care they need.
• Improve access to care in neighborhoods by constructing outpatient specialty and community health centers.
• Enhance physician training facilities, helping grow the workforce needed to meet our community’s rising demand.

Put simply: Prop. 409 gives us more treatment beds, faster evaluation processes, and expanded care options — turning detention back into detention and making care the default response to people in crisis. 

These investments aren’t just pragmatic; they’re cost-effective. For the average household, Prop. 409 translates to just a few dollars a month. It is a small price to pay for a safer, healthier community where people in crisis get help, not handcuffs. 

This balance between accountability and care is exactly what Prop 409 delivers. It gives law enforcement the capacity to focus on public safety, knowing there’s more mental health infrastructure to support our mission and take care of the community more effectively. In my 40 years of law enforcement, I know that timely, appropriate care can change the course of someone’s life — and even prevent tragedy. Proposition 409 gives us the tools we need: more capacity, more options, and more opportunities to step in before a crisis unfolds.

I urge Maricopa County voters to join me in supporting Proposition 409. It’s not just an investment in health care — it’s an investment in a safer, more resilient Maricopa County.

Jerry Sheridan is Maricopa County sheriff.