Prevalence of Mental Illness in our Criminal Justice System

2045 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Historical background of mental health

The Prevalence of Mental Illness in our Criminal Justice System Introduction Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem. Literature Review In the United States alone, 57.7 million individuals suffer from mental illness. These illnesses range anywhere from mood disorders to anxiety disorders or to personality disorders and so on (The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America). 18 to 25 year olds make up about 30% of these individuals alone (Survey Finds Many Living with Mental Illness Go Without Treatment). These individuals require care from medication to psychiatry or even to confinement. However, of these 57.7 million individuals with mental illness, studies have found that less than one in three of these individuals receive proper treatment (Studies Say Mental Illness Too Often Goes Untreated). Furthermore, there are around 10 million individuals booked through the jail systems in a year. Of these 10 million individuals, around 700,000 of these individuals have symptoms of serious mental illness. However, though already high numbers, these numbers are expected to be lower than the actual due to individuals not wanting to report or not knowing to report thei... ... middle of paper ... ...ts and Opportunities for the Future." FDLE.state.fl.us. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. Lewis, John. "Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System."Pathways2promise.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. McLean, Brendan. "Survey Finds Many Living with Mental Illness Go Without Treatment." NAMI. National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014. "Mentally Ill Offenders in the Criminal Justice System: An Analysis and Prescription." Sentencingproject. The Sentencing Project, Jan. 2002. Web. 07 May 2014. "Spending Money in All the Wrong Places: Jails & Prisons." NAMI. National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. "Studies Say Mental Illness Too Often Goes Untreated." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 07 June 2005. Web. 08 May 2014. "The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Crazy In America Summary

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book Crazy in America by Mary Beth Pfeiffer, she illustrated examples of what people with mental illness endure every day in their encounters with the criminal justice system. Shayne Eggen, Peter Nadir, Alan Houseman and Joseph Maldonado are amongst those thousands or more people who are view as suspected when in reality they are psychotic who should be receiving medical assistance instead, of been thrown into prison. Their stories also show how our society has failed to provide some of its most vulnerable citizens and has allowed them to be treated as a criminals. All of these people shared a common similarity which is their experience they went through due to their illness.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Personality Disorders in Prisons

    2988 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rutherford, H., & Taylor, P. J. (2004). The transfer of women offenders with mental disorder from prison to hospital. Journal of forensic psychiatry & psychology, 15(1), 108-123.

    Read More

  • Crazy In America Summary

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book, Crazy In America by Mary Beth Pfeiffer, shows how people who suffer from bipolar disorder, clinical depression, schizophrenia, and other serious psychological illnesses are constantly imprisoned because alternate care is not accessible. This surprised me because I did not realize that people with psychological illnesses are put in prison when alternate care is not available. Once these people who suffer from psychological illnesses are put behind bars, they are often punished over and over again for behavior that is psychotic, not criminal. There are many problems that can occur with mental illness, substance addiction, and other psychological disorders that are ignored and often misinterpreted within the criminal justice system,

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In Prisons

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to a study done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2005, roughly half of all jail and prison inmates in America suffer mental health problems. (James, et al. 2006) The prevalence of mental illness in the corrections system stems in part from the introduction of antipsychotic drugs in the 1960s. These medications helped treat the symptoms of mental illness and allowed many individuals suffering from mental illness to remain in the community. These medications were a great alternative for patients who would have otherwise been committed to mental institutions where they would not have been able to live normal, productive lives and would have received minimal treatment for their illnesses. Subsequent to this decrease of patients,

    Read More

  • Mentally Ill Annotated Bibliography

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Obstacles and Opportunities for Providing Psychiatric Services to Corrections Inmates with Mental Illness.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law 27 (2009) : 811-831. www.interscience.wiley.com.

    Read More

  • Description Of Mental Disorders

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mental disorders plays pivotal role in a person’s actions. An insane or mentally ill person has a hard time controlling their actions and behavior. The criminal justice system is well aware that everyone does not have the same mental state. An insane person or a person who has no control over their actions, or thought process who commits a crime will be seen as incompetent to stand trial. Daily functions for those who suffer from a mental disorder are harder for them to deal with. There is no treatment for the illness, however there is treatment that could assist in making that person’s life easier and productive. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) helps many clinicians diagnose certain mental disorders (Bartol, 2014). The DSM also can help officials link certain disorders with crime. With the help of the DSM it helps the criminal justice system realize that these disorders are the reason behind the defendant’s actions, versus it being free will. The disorders that are present in the DSM are also broken down into one of four categories: schizophrenic disorders, paranoid disorders, mood disorders and the personality disorder (Bartol, 2014). Although a person’sa mental state may be disoriented, they are still accountable for their actions if they commit a crime. While there are a select few people who suffer from a mental illness or disorder who cannot control their actions, there are also some who can. The insanity defense is also used and abused by some defendants seeking to receive a less punitive punishment. One major reason why the insanity defense was enforced in courts proceedings is because it will be cruel and unusual punishment to imprison someone who does not understand the charges they ar...

    Read More

  • Essay On Mentally Ill Offenders

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    An ongoing and growing controversy is that of the increasing number of mentally ill offenders incarcerated and released into the community. For the most part, these individuals tend to be among the main contributors of the most violent offenses. While some believe it is best to lock such individuals so that they do not commit any more crimes. Others believe that they too have rights and should also be eligible for early release prison. A common belief is that with mentally ill offenders put away, crime will reduce immensely. Although that may be the case, it is best to treat a mentally ill offender the same as that of an average offender, meaning that the prosecution and judicial process of such individuals must not differ from that of any

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In Jail

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to be diagnosed as a mental illness inmate, one has to require medication for serious issues ranging from major depressive disorders to schizophrenia and bipolar disorders” (Edwards & Mason, 2013). Sarah Varney (2014), argues that psychological disorders, including those like depression, bipolar disorder and trauma-related disorders are the most frequently diagnosed among jail inmates (Varney, 2014).

    Read More

  • Mental Illnesses In Prisons

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prisons in the United States are the largest mental health providers because of the rapidly increasing number of individual incarcerated with mental illnesses. Prison are not designed to properly care for this special group of inmates. Due to the amount of congestion, violence, poor health services and lack of purposeful activities, the conditions do not accommodate mentally ill offenders. Mentally ill offenders in the correctional system face abuse and neglect. Placing mentally ill offenders with regular prisoners can cause a threat to regular inmates if placed in a situation where their disorder leads to violence. Due to inappropriate facilitating of medication and poor mental health services, their illnesses can greaten.

    Read More

  • Mental Health Care Issues In Prisons

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    About 16.9 percent of the adults who are imprisoned have a serious mental illness (Addressing Mental Illness In The Criminal Justice System 2009). The more inmates there are the, less attention each individual is given for their own personal health. In many cases, people become a greater threat to themselves than others when they are not receiving the the appropriate care. According to the American Psychiatric Association, individuals in prison have more severe types of mental illness, such as schizophrenia. About 3.9 percent of inmates are estimated to have this disorder. Schizophrenia is one of the biggest illness affecting the prison system today ‍‍‍‍but not to only one (Aufderheide 1). The American Psychiatric Association estimated in 2000 that one in five prisoners was mentally ill, with this disorder and were not given any treatment(Aufderheide 2). This is an ongoing issues that need to be resolved because without a solution the numbers of crimes are only going to increase and people will still be left untreated. The lack of motivation to reform prison systems are not only a disservice to offenders and their families; it is a threat to public safety. There are many possible effects of allowing these problems to remain unaddressed. The rates of mental issues is only increasing in state prisons, 73 percent of women and 55 of men have at least one mental health problem. The numbers are only going to grow larger and larger without a solution to this ongoing issue happening (James1). Due to the to the lack of widespread utilization of diversion programs such as mental health and drug courts at the front end of the criminal justice process, more people with disorders are entering prisons than ever before. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that more

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In Prisons

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    People with these types of illnesses have serious impairments in everyday functioning. Mentally ill people often display simple problem-solving skills and motivation to participate in their communities or family functions (Torrey, 1997). These illnesses can cause lack in relationships, irrational behavior, and violence, mental and physical deterioration leading to suicide (Salvato, A., 1994). Prisons are often poorly equipped to recognize the mental illnesses and too often blanket the problem as behavioral issues. Two to four percent in state prisons and 1.0 to 1.1 percent of jail inmates have schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, according to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s (NCCHC) clinical guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia in correctional institutions. The guidelines also cite the fact that many of these mentally ill inmates have other risk factors associated with a higher incidence of violent behavior, such as substance abuse, neurological impairment, and poor impulse control (NCCHC). One of every eight state prisoners was receiving mental health therapy or counseling services in mid-2000 (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Mental Health Treatment in State Prisons, 2000), and nearly 10 percent were receiving psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants, stimulant,

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice System Analysis

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is an important connection between mental health and the criminal justice system. This connection between the two areas relies heavily on how to treat someone who has a mental illness when they become involved with police or anyone in criminal justice. Many times people with mental illnesses are overlooked by the system, and are not given the proper medical care to treat their mental illnesses or disorders. Most criminal justice professionals, or police for example, either do not know how to deal with a mental illness, or they do not care or believe that it is a real problem (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2017). Instead of giving these people treatment, they are often just thrown in jail without a second look at their mental health – which is often times the root cause of the problem. This has lead to an influx of people in the criminal justice system with

    Read More

  • Forensic Psychiatry Case Analysis

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Offenders who have mental illness present complex challenges to public policy and the criminal justice system. The identification, assessment, processing and treatment of these mentally ill offenders are the responsibility of forensic psychiatric services in collaboration with the justice system and other legal agencies [6]. Forensic psychiatric care differs from other psychiatric specialties in many ways. Firstly, Detention in a secure psychiatric setting can be both restrictive for the individual and expensive for society[7-10].in

    Read More

  • Affirmative Defences

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    determining mental illness, justifiable placement of judged "mentally ill" offenders, and the overall usefulness of such a defense.

    Read More

  • Mental Health: As Important as Physical Health

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kessler, Chiu . et. al."The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America."NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health , n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

More about Prevalence of Mental Illness in our Criminal Justice System

Open Document