Individuals With Mental Illnesses

As a whole, literature on the topic of mental illness in our country and specifically in our criminal justice system had a reoccurring theme. There are millions of individuals who suffer from mental illness but are improperly being handled through the criminal justice system. These individuals are deemed criminal just by their acts and their mental health state is not overly examine. Jails and prisons are being overcrowded. State prisons and jails are overpopulated anywhere from 15 to 32% (Spending Money in All the Wrong Places: Jails & Prisons).

Individuals suffering from mental illnesses tend to fall victim to the criminal justice system due to their uncontrollable actions that result from their mental illness symptoms. Within the United States two to three hundred thousand people in prison suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, severe depression, and bipolar disorder. Sadly, the majority of prisons are deficient in providing the appropriate resources to treat these individuals; people with mental illnesses are too frequently socially mistreated, neglected, and misunderstood within the confines of a prison. Prisons are deficient in correctional staff trained to suit mentally ill inmates, in

In the video, “The New Asylums”, it demonstrated how deinstitutionalization has left thousands of mentally ill patients in the hands of the prison system. As the mental health hospitals closed down, the police department and prison system has become responsible for the mentally ill people that are on the streets. There was a firm point made about the release of mentally ill patients- “When hundreds of thousands of mentally ill are released, they do not magically become healthy. They went to the streets, became homeless, and turned to a system that cannot say no.” The video also stated that today, there are nearly 500,000 mentally ill people being held in jails and prisons throughout the country. Furthermore, there was no safety net for those

The incarceration of those who are mentally ill is on the continual rise. Many states juggle with the decision of placing offenders in Mental Hospital or locating them in State Prisons. Latessa and Holsinger (2011) discuss two major reasons for the increase of those with mental illness within the prison system. First, many states have no longer allow for the insanity plea during criminal trials, thus those who suffer from mental illness are not required to receive mandatory mental treatment. This is due to the discomforting idea that criminal offenders should not be given the same living conditions as those whom are patients of mental wards. Secondly, longer sentences have created a surplus of mentally ill offenders needing treatment. Soderstrom (2007) added that the lack of mental health support systems in

The recent increase in emergency 9-1-1 calls involving mentally ill persons has heightened the awareness of the Criminal Justice System. Across the nation, law enforcement encounters with mentally ill persons have become more frequent, and the use of deadly force against mentally ill persons has increased. Since the deinstitutionalization of the mental health system, law enforcement officials have been tasked with controlling deviant and sometimes criminal behavior of persons who suffer from mental illness. As a result, law enforcement agencies have implemented crisis intervention training (CIT) and diversion tactics due to the numerous challenges faced when serving the mentally ill. Major deficiencies in the mental health system and State legislations have hindered progressive efforts towards assisting mentally ill persons. With the dramatic consequences associated with untreated mental illness, it is certain that law enforcement officers will experience an encounter requiring knowledge, specialized training, and the ability to build collaborative partnerships.

Law enforcement interactions with the mentally ill community are increasing, due to a number of factors such as cuts on long-term psychiatric beds, improvements in treatments and the philosophy of integration (Adelman, 2003). Which leads to mentally ill people living in the community, which leads to increase crisis and police interaction because of insufficient funding. Existing community-based crisis response services are not well unified and are limited, especially in rural areas. General hospital-based emergency services can also be difficult to access because of bed reductions, and only offer treatment to those only that are seriously ill (e.g. be actively delusional or suicidal). As Eric Macnaughton states in his study BC Early

The shutdown of state mental hospitals and lack of available financial and institutional resources force mentally ill people to the United States Judicial System for mental health. Every year thousands of people are arrested for various crimes and they are sent to jail. Sixteen percent of these people have some type of mental health problem (Public Broadcasting System , 2001). When we consider that the United States has the largest incarcerated population in the world at 2.2 million, this number is staggering (Anasseril E. Daniel, 2007). This is about 1% of the entire population of the United States. There are many reasons as to why the situation has taken such a bad turn and when the history of the treatment of mental illness is examined one can see how the situation developed into the inhumane disaster it is today.

My opinion on how police interaction with people who have a mental illness and how well they handle the situation is they, need to be trained in how to handle mental illness from a professional perspective. Police services need to stop thinking that dealing with mental illness is not a part of a police officer job. It has been proven that police spend a day a week interact with people who have a mental illness. They need to be prepared for it. Police officers need to stop thinking in black and white. They can no longer look at a situation as if the perpetrator is violent or not. People who have a mental illness need to be helped through hospital care not put into the criminal system. The kind of people I think who should get a second chance

The United States criminal justice system has been continuously increasing incarceration among individuals who suffer from a sever mental illness. As of 2007 individuals with severe mental illness were over twice as likely to be found in prisons than in society (National Commission of Correctional Health Care, 2002, as cited in Litschge &Vaughn, 2009). The offenses that lead to their commitment in a criminal facility, in the majority of cases, derive from symptoms of their mental illness instead of deviant behavior. Our criminal justice system is failing those who would benefit more from the care of a psychiatric rehabilitation facility or psychiatric hospital by placing them in correctional facilities or prisons.

The police officers are trained to observe, predict, and react. They maintain the order and reinforce the law in our society. It is estimated that as many as 10% of all police interactions involve persons with severe mental illness (SMI) and that of all incarcerated individuals, 14.5% males, and 31% females suffer

Psychological disorders are common in the United States and worldwide. The National institute of mental Health discovered that, “An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.” Having an uncle who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in 2003 has changed the way I see people with mental illnesses. After reading and watching the documentary about prisoners who have to undergo medication just to live a “normal” life has given me inspiration to come up with a few ways that will help our justice system deal with these sorts of individuals. While researchers are trying to come up with different medical measures to cure these diseases we as individuals can implement some procedures to help and support mental patients.

People with a mental illness who are in a time of difficulty, often find themselves homeless, in mental health facilities, or confined in jails. According to a survey done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 79 percent of mentally ill inmates in local jails, 76 percent of mentally ill inmates in federal prison, and 81 percent of mentally ill inmates in state prison have prior convictions. That is compared to only 71 percent of other inmates in local jails, 61 percent of other inmates in federal prison,  and 79 percent of other inmates being in state prison. And dejectedly enough, most of these criminals are expected to be charged with another crime after being released. Because of this, in order to help prisoners with mental health problems receive treatment and services, the state legislator should work to bring San Diego´s program to Minnesota because in the long run, it will save taxpayers money, reduce crime rates, and cut back recidivism by half.

In the Article ”Where Police Violence Encounters Mental illness” Matthew Epperson informs readers of the massive amount of violent interactions police officers encounter with mentally ill people, however his main focus is not to blame the police officers but to reinforce mental health treatment. Epperson brings evidence from his experience as a social worker at the county jail “- one of my former clients who was a college student in the late 1990s and who had several tense exchanges with the police as his symptoms worsened.”(Epperson, par.3) Epperson's position on police enforcement worsening mental health issues then leads his claim that if we enforce mental health care system and police informant as one then it will resolve to keeping mentally

This research paper discusses the issues of people who suffer from mental illness being placed in jails instead of receiving the necessary treatment they need. The number of inmates serving time in jail or prison who suffer from mental illness continues to rise. In 2015 the Bureau of Justice reported that sixty five percent of state prisoners and fourth five percent of federal prisoners suffered from mental conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Individuals who suffer from these problems require special mental health treatment for their needs to be met. Many of our prisons and jails lack the necessary resources to care for these inmates and because of that inmates who do not receive the treatment they need are at a higher risk of becoming a repeat offender. Despite the research and findings that show that the criminal justice system is unable to deal with issues dealing with the mentally ill there has been limited solutions put in place. Given the challenges the criminal justice system faces it is important to address the problem and come up with better solutions. This research paper will discuss the various techniques and solutions that scholars have propped and their effect on the issue of mentally ill criminals and how the criminal justice system should approach the problem.

illness has the potential to take full control over a person’s life, creating many obstacles from