Please watch the following video: Why Are We Using Prisons to Treat Mental Illness? • OverCriminalized • BRAVE NEW FILMS (BNF)
Also, please read the article the stabbing spree on the subway in February 2021: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/nyregion/rigoberto-lopez-nyc-subway-stabbings.html?smid=url-share
How can we overcome the legacy of overcriminalization of mental illness?
Please leave at least three comments. One is your original contribution. And two comments are you replies to your classmates. Deadline: 10/16/22, 11:59 pm.
[…] Discussion Forum 7: Mental Health and Jails/Prisons […]
[…] Discussion Forum 7: Mental Health and Jails/Prisons […]
We must enact federal laws, regulations, and policies in order to overcome. The promotion of alternatives to prison time is necessary. It is necessary to support treatment programs, the release of elderly, nonviolent, and other people. It serves no purpose other than to overcrowd the prisons when people who have committed serious crimes like murder are housed alongside individuals who have just committed minor thefts.
I agree with laws must be changed and policies in order to overcome this.
You make a great point when you stated “. It serves no purpose other than to overcrowd the prisons when people who have committed serious crimes like murder are housed alongside individuals who have just committed minor thefts.” there just lose money and over populating jails.
I really agree with You make a great point when you stated “. It serves no purpose other than to overcrowd the prisons when people who have committed serious crimes like murder are housed alongside individuals who have just committed minor thefts.” there just lose money and overpopulate jails.
Hi, Ninoska, how are you? I agree with you that we should support treatment programs.
I agree 100%, in most countries prison/jail is also considered rehab for those individuals.
This is so true I also feel many states, such as N.Y.C, have found a way by dispatching a crisis team with paramedics who will assist the mentally ill.
Thanks, Ninoska, for contributing first!
Where is everyone else?
To deal with these mentally ill individuals, the police have received special training. The police help gets them to a mental place after attending “CIT Training” to help deal with mental people, so police need to be more socially accepting of people with an illness. Bring the mentally ill to the hospital rather than jail to save even more money for the prison. With so many people in jail, the system is overcrowded.
Yes. Overcrowding prisons serves no good nor mental help for the mentally unstable.
Hi, Ariel how are you? Yes, I agree that the police need to be more social because they train for CIT. And the jail is not a place for mentally ill people.
i agree , i do feel like those with mental health issues and criminal should be separated.Officer’s are not as prepared or don’t know triggers from those with mental Ilness.
Hello Ariel, I think there should be a long-term treatment program with NGO and Government agencies to help people with mentally illness. Taking them to the Hospital is just temporary and I do not recommend sending them to prison.
Do you think that these police officers actually care about helping them or is it just because they have to?
Althought it may not be what the police signed up for it is necessary they at least get involved in special training so they could help with this mental illness pandemic
People who are mentally ill are often usually arrested mostly because police officers, nor
jails/prisons don’t comprehend the state of mind these individuals are, the amount of
incarcerated people with serious issues are often backhanded and push aside because they
dont see these individuals as someone who isnt normal so there is bias opinions due to these
reasons and with the day to day problems they also face with other inmates who aren’t seen as mentally ill. there aren’t treatments in jails or prisons and lack the ability to tolerate an mentally ill. Mentally ill people are being put in with serious criminals, instead of being put in a psych ward. And those who are wrongly done , can be cause of death due to triggers not being learn or procedures not being done the correct way. As this remind me of a case of Jamal Sutherland who was tase and sprayed multiples times couldn’t breathe, they were attempting to forcibly remove him from his cell for a bond hearing over a fight that broke out at Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, a mental health facility,he was diagnosed with with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Therefor this is being shown that in fact those experiencing mental health issues cannot be adequately addressed at a detention center.
Yes, you have a good point in how officers are not trained enough to understand individuals who are mentally unstable.
I agree with you Lesly. Police officers/ the police department don’t have trainings in mental and behavioral health.
I agree, officers just don’t care, they want to just arrest people.
Hello Lesly, I do agree that people that are mentally ill are often usually arrested, the person that is mentally ill should let it be known to the police at least so they can understand and think about how to handle the situation.
I agree that in these arrest there should be an advocate or someone to let the police know the person being detained is mentally ill so they are aware to handle the situation differently.
The Overcriminalization of mental illness within the American community is increasing at an alarming rate. To reduce the number of individuals jailed for having mental disorders law enforcement officers should be well equipped to handle such cases.
The introduction of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to law enforcement officers facilitates the right form of intervention before an individual is charged for their actions.
An increase of restoration centers around the states is another intervention measure that facilitates swift handover of an ill patient going through a crisis moment. These measures reduce the number of inmates in our jails by offering the appropriate treatment to the non-violence offenders.
i agree with you, that they should offer appropriate treatment to the non-violence offenders that are in serious needs that have mental illness.
I agree with you but many officers do not use their training instead many of them still use violence.
Mental illness is normally handled in horrible ways, there’s special programs that are out there but jails/prisons can not comprehend what others with mental illness are going through. These individuals with mental illnesses can’t do normal day to day tasks, which can sometimes cause them to go crazy.
Yeah the way mental illness is handled now a days is not okay and it needs to be fixed
Hello Heriberto, I do agree that mental illness today is becoming far worse now and how the people that are mentally ill should get the help they need to feel okay with themselves.
in Today’s society mental illness isn’t taking seriously. I can understand why because most of the times people who commit major crimes later plead “mental illness” when in court and it fustrates the families of the victims. The way we can seperate mental illness from people who actually commit crimes is maybe have officers (as explained in the video) train in dealing with these people and better reduce the over cramped jails/prisons.
I feel that police that encounters a situation where the person has a mental illness should be more aware of it, I feel that they should be trained in other ways if possible, maybe ask if the person has a mental illness and give them the help to be safe and not use force on someone who’s going through their illness and do give them the better treatment or change to make things become more smoother.
I agree. Officers may not realize how intimidating their uniform can be. Standing in front of a person that has a mental illness with your gun on your waist can trigger them.
One way to overcome the legacy of overcriminalization of mental illness is to provide more resources for mental health care. This can include more funding for mental health services, more trained mental health professionals, and more accessible mental health care. Another way is to enact policies that better reflect the needs of people with mental illness. This can include laws that are more lenient towards people with mental illness, that provide more resources for mental health care, and that protect the rights of people with mental illness. And finally, the public can play a role in overcoming the legacy of overcriminalization of mental illness by speaking out against discrimination and stigma against mental illness. This includes supporting people with mental illness, advocating for more humane and effective treatments for mental illness, and working to increase public awareness of the issue.
I do agree there has to be an understanding and sympathy for people with mental illnesses and more training in law enforcement
I like the idea of proposing laws that are more lenient towards people with mental illness. This is because many politicians forget about the mentally ill citizens when creating laws. So making laws that are more lenient towards them could help overcome the current issue of over criminalization of the mentally ill.
I say less punishment for people with mental illness but there is a law as such, which is Plead insanity. You can get off by just going to a mental institution or serve time to the community. Its hard to know what will help.
To overcome the legacy of overcriminalization of mental illness we must have policies in and out of prisons that helps people navigate through life with mental illnesses. In the video, a woman said she called the police on her son that has a mental illness because he didn’t understand the severity of the actions he wanted to take. The officers showed up in plain clothes instead of uniform and were able to talk to the young man. I believe small things like that are helpful because someone with a mental illness may see an officer’s uniform, badge, or gun and may automatically think of it as a threat or they’re in trouble which only escalates the situation.
From what I’ve heard when responding to this sort of crisis if there is a sense of violence, the more dangerous the situation will become.
Our city needs to reallocate funds from investing in incarceration into rehabilitation because mental illness is a real thing and is a public health crisis. You wouldn’t go to a dermatologist for a broken arm, you would go to an urgent care where a real physician to take care of it. Putting mentally ill people in jails will only increase the rate of recidivism because many will go back to jail. There needs to be more training from police officers and more treatment facilities opened.
I dont think spending money on more mental health and less incarceration is the answer. There are still criminals out there who are well aware of their crime. Ted bundy went to law school and had and entire family. There will still be crime but we need to understand where the start is .
I feel that this could be a possible solution. NYC has also invested in mental health teams to respond to mental health calls. This has helped to lessen the number of people incarcerated for mental health problems.
Most people don’t know how to deal/ interact with people who suffer from a mental illness because they don’t have the correct training for that. People who suffer from mental illness get put into jail instead of rehabilitation center or treatment center to get the correct treatment they need. We should have proper protocol for police officers after they find out if a patient has a mental illness, as well as a correct sentencing.
We can overcome the legacy of over criminalization of mental illness by giving law enforcement the proper training when responding to an accident involving a mental ill individual. Another way we could overcome this is by providing more mental health services. For example, as we saw in the video individuals who aren’t violent but suffer of a mental illness are more likely to be in prison longer than a violent person and if they don’t deserve the right treatment they’re going to be right back in. Lastly another great way to overcome this problem is by speaking out for the mental ill because a lot of them aren’t able to speak up for themselves it is up to us to make everyone else aware of this current issue.
I agree, many of the times the justice system thinks jail is a reform or building block to being better. How can being in your room for almost the entire day and having one hour of outside time going to make you any better ? Jail is built around the idea that you may possibly come back.
This is such a touchy topic. Many people who do major crimes tend to plea insanity to possibly get their time reduced. This leads to more criminals who know what they did was wrong being led out free rather than serving the time necessary. Law enforcements are trained to protect their selves and their team. There is very limited officials who put the criminals life before theirs because of the risk of possible illness. Most crimes are crazy and the idealization of mental illness is someone who is “crazy.” I think as a whole we can just have a distinct differentiation about the two. Mental illness can look like any and everybody. Regardless of color, race, ethnicity it has no distinct specific. We should not shame anyone for being able to have the courage to reach out but more less help people understand that all they may need is love or support.
I feel to help deal with the overcrowding in prisons within the jail system, there needs to be an established set of standards. When a call is placed for someone in crisis, a specialized team should be dispatched if it is a nonviolent person. This will help by sending a less threatening force to help talk to the person and see what it is they actually need for help. NYC has done this by creating mental health teams that include mental health professionals and Emt’s together, they can assess and de-escalate the situation without the use of police officers.
We need to focus on changing the laws, police officers should not be responding to non violent mentally ill people because although they are given the training to do so many officers do not act in the proper manner to care for these people. It would be more beneficial to open up a few crisis facility in many states with social workers working around the clock to prevent jail time. New York State specifically has lost a lot of money trying to keep the mentally ill in jail when they should be in a facility that can give them the proper help they need. Officers have a lot on their plate dealing with crimes, so creating this new plan/ facility can make officer jobs less stressful and help our community with the mentally ill.