Criminology
One of America's largest problems today is the situation with the Mentally Ill and their effects on our Criminal Justice system. Ever since the deinstitutionalization of mental hospitals, our prisons have become a gathering pool for mentally ill as they are mis-diagnosed or perhaps not diagnosed at all. They become a burden not only on our prison system, but on the economy as well as they often return to the prisons and stay longer. Many law enforcement agencies around the country are beginning to implement programs to counteract what has been happening for the past thirty years. "1. Persistent mental disorder or derangement. No longer used 2. Law. Unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility." (Webster 1996)The McNaughton Rule which is used in approximately half of the states to define insanity is as follows:1. The defendant was suffering from 'a defect of reason, from a disease of the mind.'2. As a result, the defendant did not 'know' the 'nature and quality of the act he was doing.'
" (Egger 2000)Although this is a major problem, there are institutions already beginning to instill new programs. That is more than four times the number of people currently in state mental hospitals;· The American Jail Association estimates that 600,000 to 700,000 bookings each year involve individuals with mental illness;· On any given day, at least 284,000 schizophrenic and manic depressive individuals are incarcerated, and 547,800 are on probation;· By default, L. The R-CRAS is an assessment in which the examiner is given 25 items which they must rate on certain criteria. The shift in residency of the mentally ill from hospitals to the criminal justice system is the result of deinstitutionalization, which occurred in the early 1990's. One of the most successful of these is Jail Diversion. Approaching one third of homeless people have a psychological disorder. Further complicating an already difficult task is the lack of coordination and integration of mental health services in our communities. Most law enforcement officers have no training to recognize and identify mental health factors. This is simply a screening test to use prior to the CAI. County Jail is now the largest mental institution in the United States, holding an estimated 3,300 mentally ill inmates on any given night· Annual cost to police and sheriff's department is estimated to be $45 million and $160 million respectively, $605 million total· Mentally ill offenders are generally repeat offenders, incarcerated ten times or more for minor crimes and misdemeanors. Information of the incarcerated's state, treatment, responses, and behaviors must be made available for community care centers for post incarceration treatment. The impetus began in the 1970's to eliminate the infamous mental institutions. Inconsistent care can not only be ineffective but can actually aggravate the problem increasing its severity. Now there are many mentally ill in the criminal justice system.
Common topics in this essay:
Durham Test,
Research Bureau,
Health Act,
Jail Diversion,
CAI R-CRAS,
Daycare Center,
Jay Ziskin,
Criminal Justice,
County Jail,
McNaughton Rule,
mentally ill,
mental health,
criminal justice,
justice system,
criminal justice system,
mental health services,
health services,
mentally ill offenders,
mental illness,
ill offenders,
law enforcement,
mental hospitals,
mental health courts,
health courts,
community-based mental health,
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Acceptance Essays
