The jail as a dumping ground: the incidental incarceration of mentally ill individuals

Etter, Gregg W.; Birzer, Michael L.; Fields, Judy

doi:10.1080/14786010801972738

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The second group consists of mentally ill individuals arrested for survival behaviours (e.g., shoplifting, failing to pay) due to their experience of disadvantage and limited access to necessary care and services. Consistent with these two subtypes, there is some evidence that many individuals with mental illness come into contact with the justice system for minor offences (DeLisi 2000; Etter et al 2008). The third group is comprised of mentally ill individuals who abuse or are addicted to alcohol and/or other substances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration: An analysis by gender and Indigenous status

Stewart

Ogilvie

Thompson

et al. 2020

Aust J Social Issues

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Individuals with mental illness are overrepresented in custodial settings. We examine the overlap between incarceration and diagnosed mental illness in a population‐based cohort born in Queensland in 1990. Data were extracted when the cohort was 23 or 24 years old. The population included 44,952 individuals (6.3 per cent Indigenous Australians, 45.8 per cent male), of which 1.5 per cent (n = 690) had at least one custodial sentence, and 6.1 per cent (n = 2,723) had at least one inpatient mental health diagnosis. Most individuals (91.5 per cent) with a mental health diagnosis did not have a custodial sentence. However, a substantial proportion of individuals (33.6 per cent) with a custodial sentence also had an inpatient mental health diagnosis. When examined by gender and Indigenous status, clear patterns emerged. Indigenous Australians were overrepresented in both the mental health and prison systems. Females with a custodial sentence were more likely than males to have a mental health diagnosis. Our analysis highlights the vulnerability of individuals with mental illness within the prison system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration: An analysis by gender and Indigenous status

Stewart

Ogilvie

Thompson

et al. 2020

Aust J Social Issues

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“…With little documentation of mental health problems in prisons before deinstitutionalization, there is debate about the extent to which the movement led to an increase in the number of persons with mental health issues in prison (Diamond et al, 2001: 21; Lamb and Weinberger, 2005). Some scholars argue that after deinstitutionalization prisons became a ‘dumping ground’ for those in need of mental health services (Etter et al, 2008; Metraux and Culhane, 2006).…”

Section: On the Medicalization Of Women In Prisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘It’s like they don’t want you to get better’: Psy control of women in the carceral context

Kilty

2012

Feminism & Psychology

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This article examines how women incarcerated in provincial and federal prisons in Canada experience medicalization as the predominant form of correctional psy intervention. In order to privilege the oft ignored and typically silenced voices of incarcerated women, this article draws on life history interviews with 22 formerly incarcerated women who were living in halfway houses and working to transition from prison to the community. The analysis highlights the (over)use of prescription psychotropic medications as a governance strategy and the impact this practice has on women serving time. Participants had limited access to non-medical interventions in general, and no access to counselling services outside the purview of correctional control. The overlapping of correctional and psy interventions in the prison setting transforms psy treatment not only into a mechanism of social control, but also into a punitive and disciplinary enterprise that delegitimizes the women’s self-identified needs.

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“…The defunding of mental health institutions that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s and its impact on the criminal justice system is well documented (e.g., Etter et al, 2008; Holton, 2003; Torrey, 1995). In addition to defunding of mental health institutions, increased sentence lengths and rates of incarceration for relatively minor offenses (e.g., drug and property crimes) (Constantine et al, 2010; Junginger et al, 2006), lack of diversion programs and mental health resources within correctional settings (Holton, 2003), and civil commitment laws allowing the use of jails as emergency detention centers for persons with mental illness (AbuDagga et al, 2016; Torrey et al, 1992) promoted a rapid and sustained influx of people with mental health concerns including severe depression, psychosis, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia into correctional settings (Ahonen et al, 2019; Bronson & Berzofksy, 2017; Fazel & Danesh, 2002; Rotter et al, 2002).…”

Section: Review Of the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Examining College Student Perceptions of Criminal Justice Outcomes Among Persons With Mental Illness

Dierenfeldt

Scott

Iles

et al. 2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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An extensive body of literature has documented punitive responses to mental illness in the United States that have coalesced around arrest and incarceration. Similarly, studies have highlighted the lack of treatment options available to persons with mental illness, as well as the fact the persons with mental illness are particularly susceptible to offering false confessions. Research on perceptions of these realities is, however, comparatively limited. This study contributes to the literature through the use of survey methodology to examine the perceptions of college students at a mid-sized university in the Southeastern United States as they relate to criminal justice outcomes among persons with mental illness. Results of multinomial regression models suggest that these perceptions are shaped by factors such as political orientation, semester standing, and punitiveness.

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The jail as a dumping ground: the incidental incarceration of mentally ill individuals

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration: An analysis by gender and Indigenous status

Lifetime prevalence of mental illness and incarceration: An analysis by gender and Indigenous status

‘It’s like they don’t want you to get better’: Psy control of women in the carceral context

Examining College Student Perceptions of Criminal Justice Outcomes Among Persons With Mental Illness

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