Mentally Ill and Mentally Deficient Offenders
For a variety of reasons, the criminal justice system tends to be a “first stop” for mentally ill individuals with behavioral problems. Police are often called to resolve mental health crises, and this sometimes results in criminal charges and thus the ne
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Mentally ill and mentally deficient (low IQ) offenders pose a particularly difficult set of challenges for the correctional worker. For new correctional workers used to dealing with only “fully rational” people in their daily lives, their first acquaintance with mentally ill or deficient offenders comes as quite a shock; even experienced officers report being ill at ease with them (Skeem & Louden, 2006). Nevertheless, correctional workers must be prepared to deal effectively with offenders who are especially ill equipped to respond positively to their problems. Table 17.1 presents the highlights of a Bureau of Justice Statistics report on the mental health problems of prison and jail inmates that provides a preliminary idea of the problem faced in corrections (James & Glaze, 2006). This study found that 24% of state prison inmates, 14% of federal prison inmates, and 21% of jail inmates had a recent history of mental health problems, with female inmates more like to have such problems than male inmates. The 2006 study did not address probation and parole populations, but a 1999 Bureau of Justice Statistics report indicated that 547, 8000 (about 14% of the total) probationers/parolees had some form of mental illness (Ditton, 1999). These figures do not include mentally deficient (IQ 70 or below) offenders, who are estimated to constitute 10% of the jail and prison populations (Schmalleger, 2001). The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law estimates that about 16% of individuals on probation or parole have some form of mental illness (2008).
Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this chapter (https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-030-55226-8_17) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 A. Walsh et al., Correctional Assessment, Casework, and Counseling, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55226-8_17
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17 Mentally Ill and Mentally Deficient Offenders
Table 17.1 Prevalence of mental health problems in prison and jail inmates, 2011–2012 Prison History of mental Serious psychological health problem distress 14.5% 36.9%
Selected characteristics Percent of inmates with each condition 14.2% 11.6% Charge of assault of a CO or correctional staff Current offense 16.6% 41.7% violent Most common mental health diagnoses 24.2% Major depressive disorder Bipolar 17.5% disorder Schizophrenia/ 8.7% other psychotic disorder Post-traumatic 12.5% stress disorder Anxiety 11.7% disorder Personality 13.0% disorder
Jail No indication of mental health problem 49.9%
History of mental Serious psychological health problem distress 26.4% 44.3%
No indication of mental health problem 36.0%
4.1%
9.7%
9.9%
4.2%
29.2%
41.7%
30.6% 24.9% 11.7% 15.9% 18.4% 13.5%
Source: Bronson, J., & Berzofsky, M. (2017). Indicators of mental health problems reported by prisoner and jail inmates, 2011-2012. Bureau of Justice Statistics: U.S. Department of Justice
17.1 Bipolar
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