Youth Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System
Posted on 02/03/2009 | 1 Comments
Mental disorders collectively constitute the largest burden of disease in young people. They have substantial negative short- and long-term outcomes across many domains, yet early identification and effective intervention can improve outcomes and can often lead to recovery. Unfortunately, many young people do not receive the mental health care they require and may consequently enter the justice system. Studies of incarcerated youths show that up to 70% of them have mental disorders. Many of these youth receive primarily custodial care. A variety of social, legal and medical interventions can and should be implemented to ensure that young people suffering from mental disorders do not inappropriately enter the justice system due to lack of access to health care and other services.
While the exact number is unknown, it has been estimated that as many as half of the incarcerated population suffers from mental illness(es), a substance abuse problem, and/or a learning disability. Because of a shortage of services and a lack of understanding by society, the mentally ill are not receiving the care they require and instead are being criminalized by being sent to prisons. Supreme Court Justice Beverly McLaughlin in a statement in on March 8th, 2007 stated that “Such people are not true criminals, not real wrong-doers in the traditional sense of those words. They become involved with the law because they are mentally ill, addicted or both.”
Similarly, many police officers believe that mentally ill perpetrators represent a disproportionate number of individuals incarcerated for minor crimes. Some family members have noted that crimes may be committed or encouraged to be committed in order for the mentally ill person to be arrested. This may represent a “faint hope” that arrest will lead to treatment which for a variety of different reasons is not otherwise available.
Last week Hon. Judge Michael McKee produced a report calling for 80 recommendations to patch up the cracks in New Brunswick's mental health system.
"The stigmatization of the mentally ill, the criminalization of the mentally ill in our court system and the silos of government not working together, that's something that's gone on for essentially decades and it has to be fixed," Murphy said.
We need to move away from the common misconception that locking someone up and throwing away the key is an appropriate manner by which to address mental health problems in our society. Mental illness and addiction are health issues and are not effectively dealt with by the criminal justice system.
Download: Together into the Future: A transformed mental health system for New Brunswick ~ Dr. Stan Kutcher & Ainslie McDougall
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This is a great set of comments and rings very true.
I totally agree that scientists (just like everyone else) have their biases and foibles. After all, scientists are human beings too! But science is different than scientists.
The scientific method is the most objective frame that we have by which to evaluate and predict. Science is not about finding truth. It is only about being less wrong most of the time. The scientific method (experimental design and mathematics) gives us the ability to test what we believe. The scientific method is not used to prove something is correct, on the contrary, the scientific method is designed to prove that something is not correct! It is designed to test what is called the “null hypothesis”. It takes ideas that come out of left field (or wherever else they come from) and puts those ideas to an independent test.
t does not drive our beliefs. It does however challenge our beliefs. In that way it is self-correcting. Of course scientific inquiry and understanding lives within a wider social context. That is one of the great features of science.
But gravity is gravity, social context notwithstanding. And thus it is nasty, brutish and long. As Brecht said, (something like this) - the purpose of science is to save us from everlasting error.
By Christina Carew on May 11th
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