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| Report details mental illness behind bars |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 09/11/2006 |
In the past, many corrections professionals knew they were dealing with a number of inmates with mental health problems. Many local agencies could compile their own data, but they found a gap when it came to comparing their rates of mentally ill offenders against national numbers. But with the release of the Bureau of Justice Statistics newest report, Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates, corrections professionals now have access to solid mental illness data. “We really wanted to put this issue into a national context,” explains report co-author, Doris J. James. “This is a topic corrections dealt with for quite a while without national statistics. Other researchers have made similar findings on a smaller scale, but nothing this comprehensive has been done since our last study in 1997.” Since 1997, BJS has been hard at work re-evaluating the issue. Researchers conducted more than 25,000 interviews with inmates in jails, prisons and federal facilities. James says this number represents a solid sample of the offender population, and that many offenders appreciated the chance to speak about their mental health issues. For many of those in corrections, this report is a welcomed wake-up call, which estimates that more than half of all jail and prison inmates are suffering from a mental health problem. “Previous data has always indicated that between eight and 12 percent of offenders had mental health problems,” says Leonard A. Sipes, public affairs specialist for the Washington, DC Department of Corrections . “Those of us working in corrections have always suspected it was higher than that, but we're astounded by how much higher it is. This report should have a profound affect on how we treat these offenders.” According to Sipes, who works with mentally ill offenders, tweaking treatment for the mentally ill means making sure they have the support they need behind bars and beyond. “What we call treatment is often times just stabilization,” Sipes says. “Prompting these individuals to adjust to the realities of incarceration is not treatment. They need long term plans to carry with them back to the community. We need to change modalities; it's not just about stabilization while they are with us. This is certainly a partial explanation for why recidivism rates are so high. They return to the community with no help.” James agrees. “What happens to these offenders becomes an issue of community treatment once they are released,” she says. “Part of the discussion that should be elicited from this report is about what we can do while they are incarcerated, but also post-release. This isn't just about prisons and jails. It's about the overall response to mental health issues in the community or in confinement. That's the discussion that needs to take place and we hope this report is a catalyst for that.” There is, however, one specification that James is quick to point out. The report should not be read as a diagnosis of mental illness for the inmates surveyed. “Only a doctor can diagnose that,” she says. “We want to very clearly state that we're dealing with mental illness indicators, not medical diagnosis.” Medical distinctions aside, corrections officials should find this report an invaluable asset that will open discussions about the mentally ill, and hopefully change policy and funding for an issue that doesn't stay behind bars. |
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