Why the Mentally Ill Commit Crimes Analytical Essay by Master Researcher
Why the Mentally Ill Commit Crimes
A discussion on mental illness and its relationship to violence and crime.
# 36501
| 1,650 words
| 10 sources
| APA
| 2002
| 
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Description:
This paper discusses six psychological indicators of mental illness and addresses the high prevalence of mental illness among incarcerated populations. The paper looks at what makes the mentally ill commit crimes and discusses how through hallucinations, false perceptions and perceived danger to themselves, those who are mentally ill often commit crimes of various natures.
From the Paper:
"The number of persons with mental illness in U.S. jails continues to grow. Currently the prevalence of active serious mental illness among inmates admitted to U.S. jails is about 7 percent, which means that nearly 700,000 persons with active symptoms of severe mental illness are admitted to jails annually. For those persons in prison, recent Bureau of Justice Statistics reports approximately 16% or about 233,000 are also similarly diagnosed. Jails, built as houses for criminals, have reluctantly become depots for the mentally ill. National surveys estimate that nearly 700,000 people with diagnosed mental illnesses are taken to jail each year, more than nine times the number found in public mental hospitals at any one time."But jails were not made to be hospitals, and patients do not want to be inmates. Doctors say that the stress of confinement itself can tighten the grip of illness, and that a mental impairment can leave a person vulnerable to abuse from inmates and even jail staff. Dallas inmates have told patient advocates that they are afraid to take their medicine in jail, fearful that it might leave them so drowsy that someone could steal their meals."
Cite this Analytical Essay:
APA Format
Why the Mentally Ill Commit Crimes (2003, October 09)
Retrieved May 28, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/why-the-mentally-ill-commit-crimes-36501/
MLA Format
"Why the Mentally Ill Commit Crimes" 09 October 2003.
Web. 28 May. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/why-the-mentally-ill-commit-crimes-36501/>