The Relationship between the Criminal Justice System

The relationship between mental illness and the criminal justice system has been one of intense scrutiny over the past several decades. Issues such as treatment options within state an

For many deinstitutionalized patients, the end result was simply a transinstitutionalization, or change of residence. While the Medicaid funds had been withdrawn for state psychiatric hospitals, those funds were still available for individuals with mental illness residing in nursing homes and general hospitals. As a result, many patients were simply transferred to these types of settings, where treatment options and care for the mentally insane were not nearly as advanced. By the mid 1980's, nearly 23 percent of nursing home residents had some form of mental illness (Treatment Advocacy Center, 1999).

Additionally, ensuring mental health screening measures, improving personnel training, and providing qualified mental health staff in all criminal justice systems, including local jails, would also help to decrease the issues related to the mentally ill within the system. In Ohio, where such measures have been implemented, there has been a dramatic increase in the care of the mentally ill. Reports show less mentally ill prisoner abuse, smaller punishments for rule infractions, and an overall increase in inmate mental health. Even further, recidivism rates of the mentally ill in Ohio have fallen nearly 80 percent (Kaufman, 1999).

Additionally, while these inmates do receive some form of psychiatric care, the costs of such care are much higher than that of community care centers, while the outcomes of such treatment is often much lower. According to the Department of Justice in 2000, one in every eight state prisoners were receiving some form of mental health therapy, and of the 1,558 state correctional facilities in the nation, 1,394 provided some form of mental health care. Nearly 70 percent screen inmates at admission for mental health issues, 65 percent conduct regular psychological assessment, half provide 24-hour psychological services, nearly 75 percent distribute psychotropic medications, and 66 percent assist released individuals with obtaining community mental health services (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001).

Unfortunately, for many of these individuals, criminal incarceration in the final result. In some cases, family members who are unable to force their relatives into treatment facilities due to the involuntary treatment laws have no choice but to wait until the illness causes harmful behaviors. At that junction, the police are contacted, and the individual is removed to a correctional facility (Faust, 2003). Since it is now common practice to give priority to mentally ill individuals awaiting court proceedings, many family members find this method the only option for obtaining assistance (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2000). The result, according to a 1992 study, is that over 29 percent of jails in the U.S. criminal justice system report holding mentally ill individuals with no charges against them. Certain states, such as Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico, allow such situations if the individual is being held awaiting psychiatric evaluation, a psychiatric bed in a state hospital, or transportation to that hospital (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2000).

However, even with the steps in place, the programs tend to not be as intensive nor as successful as those in a more clinical or community setting. Drug therapy, used in nearly 60 percent of the mentally ill housed within the correctional system, has been shown to be less effective than drug therapy combined with other forms of therapy (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001). Since nearly two-thirds of the mentally ill inmates are housed within units not specializing in mental health services, many are not receiving forms of treatment shown to be effective (Treatment Advocacy Center, 1999).

Many of these individuals are held after arrest for misdemeanors, such as trespassing, disorderly conduct, or vagrancy (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2000). In fact, nearly half of the mentally ill inmates housed within the criminal justice system at any given t

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