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Brookline District Court seeing sharp rise in mental‑health filings, DA candidate says
Summary
Greg Connor told TV on TV that Brookline District Court logged roughly 230 mental‑health petitions last year—up from about 30–50 filings 25 years ago—and attributed the increase to proximity to Boston, transit access and local shelter services.
On TV on TV, Norfolk County DA candidate Greg Connor described a large increase in mental‑health filings in Brookline District Court, telling host Tommy Vitullo that the court handled "about 750 cases" overall in 2025 and "about 230 mental health filings" last year.
"Now if you go back about 25 years ago, they would have about 30 to 50," Connor said, contrasting past filings with recent volumes and noting that Brookline's court also operates a juvenile court and provides local accessibility for guidance counselors and police to coordinate care. He attributed the disparity with nearby courthouses to Brookline's transit connections and services that draw people from the region.
Connor said the court's caseload reflects a concentration of people with co‑occurring mental‑health and addiction issues and that existing court programs—drug court and veterans court—seek to provide supervision and treatment instead of defaulting to incarceration. He argued that proximity to Boston, shelters and halfway houses increases demand on Brookline services and that local partnerships are critical to addressing needs.
