Crime and Mental Health Paper Law Essay Research Coursework

Crime and Mental Health
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Crime and Mental Health
The relationship between mental health and criminal predisposition has remained an issue of concern in the criminal justice system. The risks of violence and related criminal behaviors are increased in patients with psychotic disorders. However, the precise triggers or causative mechanisms of violent behavioral patterns and criminal tendencies remained uncertain. The public and professionals are increasingly focusing on connections between mental illness and the criminal justice system. This paper will explore the prevalence and causes of mental health issues in the criminal justice system, the relationship between mental health issues and crime, and describe the symptoms of three common mental health disorders common in the criminal justice system.
People with mental illnesses are overrepresented in the U.S. criminal justice system, including jails, prisons, probation, and parole. Estimates of the prevalence of mental illnesses in corrections facilities are necessary for planning and implementing preventive measures and diversionary policies and programs (Prins, 2014). According to the American Psychiatric Association and Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 50% of those in the criminal justice system have a mental illness. Study findings show a higher percentage of most types of mental illness in correctional populations than in the general population (Lurigio, 2011). Mental diagnoses like schizophrenia and psychotic disorders were four times higher in prisons and jails than the general population, while bipolar disorders were equally three times higher in correctional facilities than the general population (Lurigio, 2011).In the United Kingdom,  an estimated 39% of people detained in police custody are affected by some form of mental health disorder, and over 25% of residents in approved premise had a psychiatric diagnosis (National Guideline Alliance (UK).
Mental illness is not the primary causative factor of criminal behaviors or tendencies, and deinstitutionalization is not also the principal cause of a disproportionate criminal justice system representation of People with severe mental illness (PSMI) (Lurigio, 2011). Rather, Lurigio argues that harsh crime control policies and draconian laws regarding drugs explain the overrepresentation of PSMI who are subjected to arrests and incarcerations.
The root cause that explains the connections between mental illness and criminality is intricate. It can be an interaction of biological, genetic, environmental, or psychological, which can influence the propensity to criminal behavior. Poverty has been cited as a core ...