Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Article Review

However many people displaying psychiatric symptoms were over represented in jail and there is no tangible evidence to prove that it is their mental illness that got them to jail.

Indeed unless it can be shown that factors unique to serious mental illness are specifically associated with behavior leading to arrest and incarceration, the criminalization hypothesis ought to be reconsidered. It should put into consideration more powerful risk factors for crime inherent in social settings. Though jails and prisons continue to be seen as psychiatric warehouses, this may not indicate mental health care crisis but rather much of a public policy crisis in accordance with Junginger et.al (2006).

Melissa Schaefer Marabito (2007) has it that since the 1970s a large number of people have entered the criminal justice system of which can only be attributed to criminalization hypothesis. She goes on to critic the criminalization hypothesis saying that it oversimplifies the complexity of historic al developments by only focusing on the role of deinstitutionalization and illness.The research by Dr. Junginger et.al (2006), greatly contributed to revolutionalization the criminalization hypothesis by making it clear that the results of their study made it clear that though mentally ill people are many in jails it does not mean that their state makes them commit crimes always. The study rather proved that other crime risk factors are more liable than their psychiatric problems. More so, substance abuse was seen to be much more a cause for offenses than mental illness.

References

Dr. Junginger and colleagues (2006). Effects of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse on Criminal Offenses. June 2006 Vol. 57 No. 6

Melissa Schaefer Morabit (2007). Criminalization Hypothesis: An Historical Policy Analysis.

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