Problems with mentally ill inmates in prisons and jails
Inmates in prisons and jails suffer from various types of mental health disorders, but they lack adequate treatment. According to Pedersen (2018), the rate of mental health disorders among the inmates is higher than that of the general population. Pedersen (2018) also emphasizes that a study by the National Institutes of Health revealed that approximately 26% of inmates reported having a mental illness compared to 16% of the general population. The state and the federal courts also instruct the correctional administrators and other officials in jails and prisons to ensure that inmates with mental illness should have access to sufficient healthcare services while in prison. However, their treatment and medical continuity depend on how serious their condition is, thereby contributing to severe health outcomes, among other problems. According to Houser et al., (2019), mentally ill inmates have endless and immediate needs, thereby contributing to the difficulties experienced by the institutions to make adjustments. However, despite the awareness of their treatment needs in prison, only 34% and 17% of state prisoners and jail inmates in the US will receive mental health treatment (Houser et al., 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to highlight the problems associated with mentally ill inmates in prisons and jails.
It is necessary to note that mentally ill inmates have diverse and unique needs compared to inmates with physical needs. However, inmates lack proper screening to help with the treatment process and, thus, the need to ensure that inmates have the right to healthcare services, especially mental health care (Gerber & Cho, 2020). Correctional officers should also have adequate training to distinguish between intentional behaviors from those that clinical intervention (Vogel, 2016). The treatment process may also be expensive and depends on the limited resources, the support of the correctional officers, and their decision making (Houser et al., 2019). The number of inmates with mental illness continues to increase with time as institutions do not address their needs (Bronson and Berzofsky (2017), also found out that at least 26% and 14% of jail inmates and prisoners have serious psychological distress. However, the most common treatment was prescription medication, yet this may not be an effective treatment option for inmates with mental illness. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the treatment and medical continuity among mentally ill inmates to reduce the impacts of problems such as recidivism and increased health care costs.
References
Bronson, J., & Berzofsky, M. (2017). Indicators of Mental Health Problems Reported by Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011–12. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1-16.
Gerber, J., & Cho, A. (2020). Mental health issues experienced by jail inmates in Texas: An overview of diagnostic problems. Nowa kodyfikacja prawa karnego, 53, 169-182.
Houser, K. A., Vîlcică, E., Saum, C. A., & Hiller, M. L. (2019). Mental Health Risk Factors and Parole Decisions: Does Inmate Mental Health Status Affect Who Gets Released. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(16), 2950.
Pedersen, T. (2018). Many Prisoners Suffer From Untreated Mental Illness. Psych Central. Retrieved on August 23, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2015/01/17/many-prisoners-suffer-from-untreated-mental-illness/80060.html
Vogel, R. (2016). Dementia in Prison: an Argument for Training Correctional Officers. The University of Denver. Retrieved on August 23, 2020, from https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1219&context=capstone_masters