soc324_crime_and_violence_issue_worksheet

SOC 324 Crime and Violence Issue Worksheet 1. Choose a topic. What is your chosen crime or violence issue? Choose from the following list and provide a brief preliminary overview. Your overview will simply be 1–2 sentences describing why this issue is important to you and to society in general.  Decriminalization of responsible drug use  Intervention on the issue of campus rape  Prisons as mental health institutions  Militarization of police  Institutionalized racism in a chosen area of the criminal justice system  Other issue (if approved by instructor) The topic chosen was “Prisons as mental health institutions.” This topic is significant because of my criminology degree and my focus on working as a psychologist in the prison system to assist with determining if prison is an effective option for prisoners suffering from mental illnesses. Also, this topic is significant to me, because I have family members suffering from mental illnesses incarcerated and believe other options should be available to assist these individuals. For instance, using therapy and medications to rehabilitate prisoners suffering from mental illnesses. 2. Introduce your social advocacy group. This is an advocacy group of your own creation. In other words, if you were to establish an advocacy group dedicated to the work of your issue, what does that advocacy group look like and what are its ultimate goals (e.g., public awareness, political action, social action, changing laws)?  Explain the work the group does related to the topic area.  Explain how the social issue aligns with the group’s ultimate goals. My social advocacy group will be introduced as “Rehabilitate Before Incarcerate.” The purpose of this group is to indicate how some individuals suffering from mental illness can be rehabilitated. The focus is to indicate to society that mental illness should not be feared and that not all people suffering from mental illness are criminals. Another goal is focusing on promoting awareness of treating inmates with mental illnesses and assisting them with coping. Also, it is essential to noted that prisoners suffering from mental illness are not receptive to the rules like the general population without being properly treated.

3. . Al-Rousan, T., Rubenstein, L., Sieleni, B., Deol, H., & Wallace, R B. (2017). Inside the nation’s largest mental health institution: a prevalence study in a state prison system. BMC Public Health. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889- 017-4257-0 . Based on this article, prison overpopulation is caused by incarcerating prisoners suffering from mental illness. Indicated was that more inmates suffering from mental illness than that of the general population. Also, indicated was that there were twice as many people suffering from mental illnesses than in institutionalized. This study indicated how mental illness is handled in state prisons. Martin, M. S., Colman, I., Simpson, A.I.F., & McKenzie, K. (2013). Mental health screening tools in correctional institutions: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry. https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/147`-244X- 13-275 . The focus of this article was the screening process of the prison intake and focuses on the identifying the differences that exist between inmates suffering from a mental illness and the general population and how they comprehend the rules of incarceration. The focus of this study was developing an enhanced screening process for individual suffering from mental illness during the prison intake process and while serving a prison term. Mundt, A. P., & Baranyi, G. (2020). The Unhappy Mental Health Triad: Comorbid Severe Mental Illnesses, Personality Disorders, and Substance Use Disorders in Prison Populations. Frontiers https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00804/full .

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