Weich, Leah
Title:
Conversations Between the Bars: The Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness in One Arizona Jail
Abstract:
Three times more people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) are in American jails and prisons than in hospitals. This ratio balloons to almost ten times more in Arizona. Our state is among the worst for access to mental health care, as well as having one of the highest incarceration rates. However, since jails are meant to punish criminals rather than to care for patients, they often lack sufficient resources to effectively handle mentally ill offenders.
Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics research shows that inmates with mental illnesses are are likely to lack proper treatment, tend to become repeat offenders, and often become victims of assault. However, jails are closed worlds where the treatment of inmates is often concealed from the rest of the public. The current study builds on existing literature by using qualitative methods to understand the lives that make up the data. Semi-structured individual interviews with detention staff and formerly incarcerated individuals were conducted to learn about their experiences with mental health in a local jail. The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges that people with mental illnesses face throughout their time in jail and the criminal justice system, specifically focusing on the sources of these issues and discussions of potential solutions.
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Weich, Leah
Category
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences > Criminology and Criminal Justice > Poster Presentation