Mental Illness Does Not Commit Violent Crimes

There are many different theories about the psychological reasons a person may commit a crime. It is believed that those who are mentally ill may be more likely to commit violent crimes. There is a large stigma against those with mental illness, and one of those beliefs is that people who are mentally ill are dangerous and unstable (1). But according to Statistics Canada, the majority of people with mental health disorders do not commit crime (2). The legal definition of a mental disorder is simply “a disease of the mind” as stated in the Criminal Code of Canada (3). There are many different mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, eating disorders, depression; the list goes on (4). Mentally ill people are not more likely to

In the case of Kimberly Noyes, she committed murder but was found not criminally responsible due to her mental illness (5). Why do people believe that individuals with mental illness and/or disorders are more likely to commit violent crime? With literature and case examples as support, I am arguing that mentally illness does not lead to violent crimes.

Para 1 – beliefs of mentally ill and crime - Individuals with mental illnesses have an ongoing stigma and prejudice against them mainly due to other people’s beliefs and misconceptions about mental illness (6). Since there are two types of stigma – public and self-stigma – this paper will be focussing more on the public stigmas (6). Public stigmas can be further broken down into stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination (6). In the terms of crime and criminal behaviour, many people believe that all people with mental illnesses or disorders are violent, thus leading to fear or mistreatment of these individuals due to these stereotypes (6). One of the main reasons for public stigma