Psychiatric Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

Psychiatric Disorders in the Criminal Justice System Prison population has increased by over 50% since the Richmond Report

on deinstitutionalisation (Australian Bureau of Statistics) with 74%

of prisoners in NSW suffering from a psychiatric disorder (Corrections

Health Service). This has caused great concerns with mental illness in

the criminal justice system. Mental institutions were ‘warehouses’ for

the mentally ill and failed to meet basic human rights requirements

and treatment. Yet as a result of institutions closing, more mentally

ill people began filling the prison system. Something needs to be

done about mental illness in prisons and there can be two possible

solutions. Firstly, mentally ill people who have committed crimes are

still criminals therefore treatment that is required can be fulfilled

while in prison. Also, prison staff are uneducated in areas of mental

health and illness, so staff should be well equipped and educated to

deal with such people and adequate diagnosis must be given and early

rather than later. Treatment in prison can be described through many

of the perspectives. The second option is to never allow mentally ill

people to be in prison, through proper diagnosis and treatment which

can be described through many of the perspectives in specialised care

and rehabilitation.

As mental institutions closed patients were left to fend for

themselves and to choose what their needs and treatments were, and

since many people could not, or did not want to, recognise their

illness (‘agnosia’) many patients ceased medication...

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... Mentally ill offenders are ebing wrongly

held in prisons. British Medical Journal. May 08 2004

Reports:

* Federal Bureau of Prisons Central Office, National Criminal

Justice Reference Service, US Department of Justice. Mental

Illness and the Criminal Justice System.

* Sentencing Project. Mentally Ill Offenders in the Criminal Justice

System: An Analysis and Prescription. Jan 2002

Newspapers:

* Cresswell, A and Kearney, S (2005) Calls to get mentally ill out

of jails. The Advertiser. 16 July.

* Cronin, D. (2005)Mental health crisis unit to be built into new

prison. Canberra Times. 31 May

* Wyhnhausen,. E (2005). Penal prescription a poor cure. The

Australian. 16 July

Television:

* PBS Frontline, The New Asylums, Four Corners. Monday 20 June 2005