> Mandatory mental health is really ripe for abuse. Furthermore, it is interpretative,

Precisely the reason so many countries avoid doing it.

> and then a script you can't afford.

It also doesn't help when a tiny percentage get their medication and one day choose to stop taking them.

It is depressing to say, but these random acts of violence can't be stopped unless a new solution is found. The barbaric tactics of the past should not be re-instituted. That much we agree on. Removing it completely without a substitute to fill the void has created very foreseeable problems that certain laws (including the war on drugs) have only made worse in the following years after.

My perspective is from an American focused view point, so my knowledge on other legal practices are limited. imo, if the field of psychology continues to fail to identify these threats, I hope that technology (and possibly brain scanning devices) can discover a new method of locating erratic behavior without as much bias. At least with a machine, you can see what the computer is looking for, so political, religious, and other ideological opinions can be screened out, or at the very least, made public before implementation.

Who knows... maybe such tech will become the new Lie-Detector. Bunk science, easily beat and defeated, but still trusted by millions because it is shown on tv.

Right now, something's gotta be done, and the old ways aren't working.

A knee jerk reaction that will continue to be felt for decades to come. Only need to see the tent cities springing up where over a third need medical help because of a mental health crisis.

At the end of the day you can't force help onto somebody that thinks they're perfectly well.

Eventually urban centers will snap and laws banning public camping will start appearing. Arresting someone because they fell asleep outside isn't the solution to the problem. Just another expensive bandaid where more taxes will have to be diverted to an overcrowded prison system that will be filled with even more non-violent offenders.

One of these days a tech company might create an A. I. program like the Sibyl System where all you have to do is get a brain scan. Sanity Number not correct? Off you forcibly go to a psych-facility/prison. A joke of an idea, but honestly, with how weird the world is getting who knows what could be just around the corner.

Even more of a reason to do everything you can to prepare and protect yourself.

> The attacker has had mental health problems, the reports say.

There's gotta be something governments can do to stop crazy people from running around. Ticking time clocks waiting to snap.