Monday, June 13, 2005

Options to reduce mentally ill population in prisons (Masssachusetts) Chelmsford Independent story - "By sending mentally ill criminal offenders to prison instead of treating their sickness, the state is wasting money and potentially endangering those in the communities offenders return to, supporters of decriminalization bills told lawmakers Monday. ... More than a quarter of nearly 10,000 state prisoners are receiving mental health services, including more than 60 percent of the female inmate population, according to the state Department of Corrections. Nationally, there are more mental illness sufferers in the criminal justice system than there are in psychiatric hospitals, decriminalization proponents said, citing Human Rights Campaign data. The Committee on Mental Health and Substance abuse is weighing several proposals to address the problem."  
  

Kudos for City Court's Mental Health Division (Arizona) Opinion column in the Tucson Citizen - "... Since 2000, 3,100 defendants have successfully completed the diversion program. The program's effect on the community was shown in a recent study by the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management. Defendants entering the program in 2002 had an average of seven criminal charges in the prior two years. More than half of those completing diversion had no additional charges in the two years afterward, the study found. Crimes of violence declined by more than 75 percent. Defendants with 10 or more charges experienced a 61 percent reduction in offenses after completing diversion. The participating agencies constituting the Mental Health Division deserve recognition."  
  

Report: Jails' mental health care poor (New York) Newsday story - "New York's prisons have too much use of harsh disciplinary measures and not enough mental health care or education programs, according to a report released today by the Correctional Association of New York, a watchdog agency. But a spokesman for the state Department of Correctional Services said the 163-page report isn't worthy of a response. The state houses 64,000 inmates in 70 prisons around the state. On the plus side, the report said there are good programs and well-run facilities, though the system has a way to go in key areas." The full report is not yet available at the Correction Association web site, but likely will be posted soon. Readers may also be interested in a June 2004 report, Mental Health in the House of Corrections: A Study of Mental Health Care in New York State Prisons.