In 2020, the department received over 2,700 calls for someone in a mental health crisis. Author: Nic Jones Updated: 6:20 PM EST February 24, 2021 RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — The Richland County Sheriff's Department and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health have created a new partnership to help people in the community during mental health crisis. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says the community needs to come together to talk about mental health to help create solutions. "People just don't want to talk about mental illness and I'm going to tell you right now being mentally ill does not mean that you're a criminal," said Sheriff Lott. "It's not a crime to have a mental illness and unfortunately for too long, it's been treated that way."