It's my understanding, through talking with heath professionals, that people typically come into the psych ward after having an interaction with police, and the

It's my understanding, through talking with heath professionals, that people typically come into the psych ward after having an interaction with police, and then they're let go after 72 hours. I know others that have admitted themselves, and then left after 72 hours. A lot has changed since One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest; hospital administrators have almost zero interest in keeping people any longer than they have to, since many people do not have health insurance, and sometimes present a risk to hospital staff. We have no legal way of forcibly removing people from society, for their own safety and the safety of others, until they have an interaction with police, or commit an actual crime, and then they go to jail.