Mental Illness And Crime

The public has programmed many to perceive those with mental illnesses as more dangerous. According to the New Yorker, a study done in 2013 showcased that forty-six percent of respondents believe that people suffering from a mental illness pose a greater danger to society than those without. Furthermore, two recent Gallup polls, from 2011 and 2013, demonstrated that more people believe that mass shootings transpire because of a failure in the mental health system, not due to the easy access of guns. In the cases of Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck, Virginia Tech, and more, teachers, students, parents, and most importantly, the public, automatically assumed only insanity could cause the performance of those acts. Of course, mental illness can play an immense factor in a person’s likelihood to commit violent acts, but pinpointing it as the paramount reason for them should not happen. After lengthy analyses of data that discusses the correlation of gun violence and mental disorders, Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist and professor of psychiatry at Duke University concluded that mental illness became a risk factor for gun violence in four percent of cases. Although the presented facts disclose the almost non-existent connection between mental illness and gun violence, many continue believing the opposite.

While most people are concerned and want violent offenders punished and thrown in prison (which is a valid concern), it is rare that violent acts are committed by the mentally ill. For those crimes the mentally ill commits, prison may not always be the right answer; instead, proper treatment and rehabilitation would be much better. In general, the statement has always been made that the

The definition of “mental illness” has changed from diagnosis-focused to person-focused. Even though the meaning and the treatments have changed since the 60s, one thing hasn’t and that’s the stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. Society stereotypes what mental illness is and how it works. When society hears of a mentally ill person they deem them violent and dangerous, this is usually when labels like “crazy” and “psycho path” come out. The Mental Health Foundation expressed,” The situation is exacerbated by the media. Media reports often link mental illness with violence, or portray people with mental health problems as dangerous, criminal, evil, or very disabled, and unable to live normal, fulfilled lives.” Because people would rather believe what they hear instead of investigating the facts they discriminate against mentally ill people. The consequences of this crime affect them in: finding work, healthy and lasting relationships, finding a decent home, and being included in mainstream

This essay will look at the public understanding of the nature of mental disorder and to what extent it is associated with dangerousness and violence. The essay will begin by exploring the public’s perspectives and opinions on the matter and the impact that the mentally ill have on crime rates. Specific social perspectives will also be explored..

yourself to their level in order to empathise. Its all about trust, once you gain their trust you can go a long way with that person.”

A small group of people with mental illness (those with severe and untreated symptoms of schizophrenia with Psychosis, major depression or bi-polar mood disorder) may have an increased rate of violence. In this group, Individuals who are suffering from psychotic symptoms that cause them to feel threatened or manipulated by Outside forces have a greater tendency towards violent behaviour. In spite of this, with early assessment and Appropriate treatment, individuals with severe illness are no more dangerous than the general population. Community treatment programs have also been found to be helpful in the management of behaviours that lead to crime.

But mentally ill individuals are usually unsafe if we make them one. Mental illness does not always lead to violence. In cases where violence occurs, the incident normally results from the same reasons as with a regular person; thus, feeling threatened, excessive use of alcohol and/or drugs, etc. However, some offenses that the mentally ill commits leave the government no option but to incarcerate them. These crimes also draw some people’s attention to the wrong side, making them agree with the government plan to imprison them. One of the cases that I believe contributes to this is Tarasoff v. The Regiments of the University of California’s case. Tarasoff v. The Regiments of the University of California is the case that flickered communities to look more into finding ways to protect the community (imprisoning the ill). This case consists of the premeditated murder of Tatiana Tarasoff by Prosenjit Poddar, who detailed to his therapist that he would commit the murder. Unfortunately, after all the assistance through therapy, Poddar still committed the crime. Situations like these made some people lose hope with psychiatric centers. Instead, they see mentally ill as criminals who are using their illness to their

Historically, society has believed that people with mental disorders tend to be more violent than normal people, creating a stigma for patients. They thought that a mentally ill person tends to cause harm and chaos which was difficult for this person to deal with. In fact, research suggests that public opinions on the relationship between mental illness and violence do not reflect reality, although some people with psychiatric disorders commit violent crimes, it was not really clear about how much mental illness or substance abuse affect violent behaviour. Media had a great effect on people by making them think that the mentally ill are violent which was proved to be a myth, as they are more likely to be victims than offenders.

Furthermore, it is sad to see that there are people with mental illness who do not have the proper support, services, or intervention programs. Instead funding is directed elsewhere and not on preventing the 2,000,000 mentally-ill individuals from jail. Another reason why I believe the media portrays mental illness with mass shootings is because there are people who are not mentally ill but plead this in case so that they can receive a lighter sentence and not serious jail time. Another sad reality is that an estimated half of people who are shot and killed by police are in fact mentally ill. Their definitely needs to be an effective plan to help those suffering from mental illness so that lives can be saved and fiscal sense can be made to take a stand for the many people who were disregarded even though they themselves have mental-illness. Finally, effective treatment facilities also need to be put into place. This article provided me with a better understanding of what mental illness actually is. and the lack of services that are at the disposal of these

Aggression and violence has long been associated with mental illness, especially those suffering from psychosis (reviewed by Singh et al. 1). To what extent individuals suffering from schizophrenia contribute to the prevalence of criminal violence is the theme of this research report.

Based on the assessment of MacPhail and Verdun-Jones (2013), people with different forms of mental conditions are highly over represented in the criminal justice system. The extent of over representation in the justice system is uncertain. However, its presence cannot be denied. The term mental illness or condition is used to refer to exclusively the serious psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia while at selected times it is used to refer to conditions listed on in the DSM-IV, which is the manual of mental disorders. Some of the more common conditions listed in the DSM include anti-social personality disorder as well as drug and substance abuse. Depending on the situation, the definition of mental illness applied will vary. Eighty percent to Ninety percent of criminal offenders have a diagnosis of mental disorder. To this end, it comes as no surprise that there is a high population of inmates with antisocial personality disorder in correctional facilities.

In the first academic article, Sherry Glied and Richard G. Frank discuss their research, “Mental Illness and Violence: Lessons from the Evidence”,

Literature Analysis and Research Proposal of the Correlation between Mental Illness and Violence and Crime

As mentioned by Howitt (2015), a mental illness can be defined as ‘a variety of psychological conditions in which there is a characteristic disabling and distressing impairment in some aspect of the psychological functioning of the individual.’ However, not all mental illnesses are found to be at risk of violent offending. Such illnesses as anxiety and depression are found to be less violent than mental health problems such as bipolar and schizophrenia, both of which will be included in the subset of mental health problems recognised as violent for the purpose of this essay. The relationship that has been identified between mental illness and crime has the ability to be misconceived through misclassification of violent mentally ill offenders and a variety of factors which have the ability to cloud the evidence of the