Australia mentally ill fill streets, jails

SYDNEY, July 27 (UPI) -- Mental facility officials say Australia's policy to close asylums is a danger to citizens, with mentally ill patients roving the streets.

Peter McGeorge, the director of a high-security psychiatric ward in Sydney called the policy Wednesday "a revolving door" for dangerous patients, The Australian reports.

McGeorge blames a failed implementation of a plan to reorganize and cut costs of the country's mental health system.

McGeorge is calling for more funding for the system.

The chief executive of the Police Federation of Australia, Mark Burgess, said police are now arresting mentally ill people to maintain safety, leading to prisons full of people who belong in a mental institution.