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However, a spouse abuser who tried to kill his wife may not fall under that classification, even if he incidentally suffered from depression, unless that depression could be causally linked to the triggering incident.
The second consideration is that not all mental illnesses are associated with the same risk of violence. The American Psychiatric Association revises its mental illnesses with enough frequency to make it clear that they are only now just beginning to understand the complexity of mental illness. Therefore, while a century ago it may have been appropriate to lock away everyone suffering from mental illness as a means of protecting society, that approach is no longer warranted. Some mental illnesses are associated with a greater risk of harming others than other mental illnesses. For example, people suffering from depression pose a risk of harming themselves, but may also pose a greater risk of harming themselves. However, while many people assume that schizophrenics are all dangerous because of delusions, the fact is that schizophrenia is...
Therefore, each individual's mental health should be thoroughly assessed before proposing an involuntary commitment.
The third consideration is that commitment may not be the most appropriate way to safeguard society from the mentally ill individual. First, committing someone does not mean that they cannot harm someone; on the contrary, a person who is committed has access to a vulnerable population of other mentally ill individuals. Second, commitment may not be the best way of addressing someone's mental health issues. Depending on the underlying mental health issues, an individual may actually respond to drug therapy within a matter of a few days. Medication compliance can be assured in an outpatient setting, protecting society while respecting the liberty of the individual. In these scenarios, where other medical interventions can provide for the same outcome as hospitalization, it is important to thoroughly examine those options before hospitalizing a person.
Mental Illness and Crime Virginia Tech is a prestigious private university on the east coast of America that might forever be associated with the skewed actions of one man. Seung-Hui Cho was a fourth year student at Virginia Tech and was responsible for the deadliest rampage this university has ever seen. Born in South Korea in 1984, it was eight years later that Cho received permanent residency in the United States.
Police Mentally Ill Policing and Mentally Ill Individuals There is a significantly higher proportion of mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system than compared to the same proportion of the United States in the society in general. It is estimated that a mentally ill individual is about eight times more likely to enter into the criminal justice system than they are a mental hospital. These individuals, as the video and the
Incarcerated Mentally Ill Patients It may sound unbelievable, but on any given day, scholars estimate that almost 70,000 inmates in U.S. prisons are psychotic; and up to 300,000 suffer from mental disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders. In fact, the U.S. penal system holds three times more people with mental illness than the nation's entire psychiatric hospitals (Kanapaux, 2004). Indeed one of the most telling trends, say some sociologists, is
As this study points out, these encounters can lead to negative situations and even to death, injuries and legal issues. In essence, the relationship and involvement of the police from a formal point-of-view is based on two common law principles. These are, the facility and the responsibility of the police to protect the safety and welfare of the public, and secondly the principle of parens patriae, which dictates protection for
" (Finnerty, 2008) It is reported that those who suffer from co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse problems are also likely to be homeless. According to the Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians' Network (2000) "Co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse makes it more likely that people will be chronically homeless." (cited in Finnerty, 2008) Factors that are known to contribute to homelessness in those with co-occurring mental illness and
Forensic Mental Health Legislation and Policies As a probation and parole officer in Australia, one of the major issues that need to be addressed through best practice is dealing with mentally ill offenders. This is an emerging issue to be dealt with in order to provide suitable programs and support to lessen recidivism. The significance of addressing this issue is evident in the substantial attention given to offenders with mental illness