The Relationship between Mental Health Diseases and Crime
Background of the Study
Research Problem
One of the key questions raised within the criminal justice system reflects on the role of mental health diseases and disorders in provoking individuals to engage in a wide array of criminal activities (Gonçalves, Endrass, Rossegger, & Dirkzwager, 2016). Indeed, that has become a significant subject of debate among mental health professionals and stakeholders in the criminal justice system focusing on effective ways of reducing the occurrence of illegal activities. However, researchers have been on the forefront in highlighting the relationship between mental health disorders and crime, especially when dealing with wrongdoings that involve
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The question presented above is a PICOT question that explores mental health diagnosis and the increase in the chances of offending within a period of one to five years after the offenders have been released. The question seeks to examine how mental health diseases and disorders act as a contributing factor towards increasing the overall chances of offending within a given period after release.
Method of Study
Research Method
Based on the expectations of the study, the most appropriate qualitative research method selected was the survey. The idea of using a survey is to assist the researcher to engage with participants as part of the data collection process in this research. The selection of the survey as the most appropriate research method can come about due to the need for the investigation to reflect on qualitative data from the participants to assist in drawing practical conclusions. The researcher believed in the need for selecting a research method that would be of value in projecting the overall expectation of the study, which is to examine a relationship between the
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Kingston, Olver, Harris, Booth, Gulati, and Cameron (2016) argue that nurses have an important role in ensuring that their patients achieve the best possible outcomes in health care, which is the case when dealing with mental health issues. The study embraces the position that lack of proper measures to aid in the treatment of mental health disorders affects the society as a whole, as these individuals engage in activities that harm other members of the community. Thus, the information projects the need for nurses to understand their roles in dealing with mental health diseases and disorders.
Ethical Considerations
As part of the ethical consideration for the study, the researcher sought relevant approvals from the Institutional Review Board, as this is part of protecting the integrity of the study. On the other hand, the researcher also focused on protecting the privacy of the participants by excluding their names in the study. The researcher also ensured that the participants signed a consent form allowing usage of the data they provide in this particular study.
Australian Institute of Criminology, 2007, The identification of mental health disorders in the criminal justice system, prepared by Ogloff, J.R.P., Davis, M.R., Rivers, G. and Ross, S., Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.
Introduction During the process of research, professionals collect data or identifiable private information through intervention or interaction. While this is a vital part of the scientific and medical fields, every precaution must be taken by researchers to protect the participants' rights. Ethics, outlined by the Belmont report; requirements, described by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); and regulations, laid out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are verified by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). This procedure ensures that all human rights are safeguarded during the entire research process. The Institutional Review Board The IRB is an administrative body which has been established to make sure research participants' rights are protected.
"Mentally Ill Offenders in the Criminal Justice System: An Analysis and Prescription." Sentencingproject. The Sentencing Project, Jan. 2002. Web. 07 May 2014.
This essay intends to address the role that state agencies, both within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and more broadly the institutions of education, employment and health, play in supporting and implementing diversionary programs for offenders with mental health problems. Mental health is clearly one of the most critical issues facing the Australian and New South Wales (NSW) CJS with research indicating that offenders with mental health problems constitute the majority of those within the prison system. The current strategies for diversion will be critically evaluated in order to determine their effectiveness with regard to the delivery and production of justice, cultural sensitivity for Indigenous Australians will also be considered. The social construction of mental illness and the associated process of stigmatisation of this particular group will be explored in conjunction to explain why society still fails to prevent the mass entry of people with mental health issues into the traditional CJS.
Markowitz, F. E. (2011). Mental illness, crime, and violence: Risk, context, and social control. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 36-44.
The overflowing prisons and the increase in diagnosis in mental illness, specifically personality disorders, relating to criminal activity suggests that our society and criminal justice system need to reanalyze and alter the psychological rehabilitation programs in order to effectively reduce and prevent crime. By analyzing specific aspects of prisons and personality disorders, we can objectively interpret the information for use in improving the criminal justice system. Concepts such as the prevalence of personality disorders in prison communities; the relationships between certain crimes and disorders, the idea of institutionalization, as well as possible treatments within the prisons will be examined. Additionally, by understanding the personality disorders that are associated with crime, installation of stronger intervention programs can occur.
Eysenck, H.J., & Gudjonsson, G.H. (1989). The causes and cures of criminality. Contemporary Psychology, 36, 575-577.
Prior to taking this course, I generally believed that people were rightly in prison due to their actions. Now, I have become aware of the discrepancies and flaws within the Criminal Justice system. One of the biggest discrepancies aside from the imprisonment rate between black and white men, is mental illness. Something I wished we covered more in class. The conversation about mental illness is one that we are just recently beginning to have. For quite a while, mental illness was not something people talked about publicly. This conversation has a shorter history in American prisons. Throughout the semester I have read articles regarding the Criminal Justice system and mental illness in the United States. Below I will attempt to describe how the Criminal Justice system fails when they are encountered by people with mental illnesses.
Mental health nurses are exposed, due a lack of community support, low staffing levels, stigma and client pressures including the risk of violence, The increasing number of mental health patient compare to the decreasing number of beds and capable staff, means that mental health nurses are spending less time per patient and potentially providing a minimum quality of care level , Moreover, mental health nurses are dealing with caring for patients in inappropriate settings, with a reduced level of ,all factors leading to an increase in stress and burnout (Barling, 2001, p. 252; MHCA, 2005, p. 3)
According to a study done by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2005, roughly half of all jail and prison inmates in America suffer mental health problems. (James, et al. 2006) The prevalence of mental illness in the corrections system stems in part from the introduction of antipsychotic drugs in the 1960s. These medications helped treat the symptoms of mental illness and allowed many individuals suffering from mental illness to remain in the community. These medications were a great alternative for patients who would have otherwise been committed to mental institutions where they would not have been able to live normal, productive lives and would have received minimal treatment for their illnesses. Subsequent to this decrease of patients,
1. Canadian Northern Strategy Summary Canada is one of several nations that have significant amounts of coastline bordering the Arctic ocean giving Canadians tremendous opportunities for expansion into the arctic region (Federal Interlocutor, 2009, p.3). The purpose of the Northern Strategy is to secure the future opportunities that may arise in the arctic region, and to do so the strategy has been broken into 4 categories. The first of these categories is exercising our arctic sovereignty, which uses a 3-part strategy, which will be overviewed in section 1 and in further detail in part 2 of this paper. Introducing new land capabilities through the building of a military training base in Resolute bay, The expansion of the Nanisivik port facility
It is evident that those with mental illnesses have an increased likelihood of committing crimes. It is important to note, however, that not all people with mental illnesses commit crimes or violent behavior so a cause is not evident. Substance abuse, a mental disorder, is also seen as a large risk in violent behavior (Silver 2006). Hiday (1995) asks the questions of the direction of this correlation. Does mental illness lead to violence or is it vice versa?
The stereotype that goes hand in hand with mental illness that though seems to have improved over the years is still pervasive. Teplin, Abram & McClelland (1994) state that people in general, believe that people with mental illness are more likely to commit violent crime with those without mental illness. In their study they seek to find evidence to that statement – to learn if having a mental illness increases the likeliness of violent crime and recidivism after release from prison. This author seeks to discover the same using similar data to learn if there is a connection between violent crime and mental illness.
Mental health and the criminal justice system have long been intertwined. Analyzing and understanding the links between these two subjects demands for a person to go in to depth in the fields of criminology, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, because there are many points of view on whether or not a person’s criminal behavior is due to their mental health. Some believe that an unstable mental state of mind can highly influence a person’s decision of committing criminal actions. Others believe that mental health and crime are not related and that linking them together is a form of discrimination because it insinuates that those in our society that suffer from poor mental health are most likely to become a criminal due to their misunderstood behavior not being considered a normality in society. In this report I will go into detail of what mental health and mental illness is, what the differentiates a normal and a mentally unstable criminal, give examples of criminal cases where the defendant’s state of mind was brought up, introduce theories surrounding why one would commit crimes due to their mental health, and lastly I will discuss how the criminal justice system has been modified to accommodate mental health issues.
The research was designed using qualitative model based on exploratory design. This was done to facilitate multi-faceted study with a broader prospective. Basic percentage analysis was done to supplement qualitative analysis. The study was conducted with the help of a Questionnaire. To deepen the understanding data was collected from a variety of books, Internet web pages, and articles of different kinds conducted was descriptive in nature. Descriptive research includes survey and facilitating enquiries of different