Statistics have shown that incarceration for people with mental illness is ineffective and creates more crime.
For many of us harmed by violence, the most significant consideration after overcoming the initial shock is:know that we are far safer if the person who harmed us undergoes rigorous treatment and healing instead of being warehoused in destabilising carceral environments until their sentence has expired. At this time, they are less well and more likely to re-offend.
The communities I have served in my 29 years as a public defender reflect a statistical reality where one-in-five people have a serious mental illness. As a mental health specialist attorney working exclusively with people with such diagnoses, I have witnessed the futility of turning to incarceration when we should instead be addressing the underlying mental health concerns that bring someone into the criminal legal system in the first place.
Psychiatric diagnoses should be treated as other medical diagnoses, yet stigma and fearmongering ensure that those showing symptoms of their illness are overpoliced and criminalised. Our default response to a person experiencing a mental health emergency results in their containment by law enforcement ― regardless of whether any threat of harm exists ― rather than seeking appropriate and effective avenues for healing and recovery.
Until we recognise that chronic instability informs criminal involvement and that the cumulative effect of our lapses makes individuals and communities unwell, we will continue to fail at safeguarding public safety. Moreover, without prioritising public health and legislating access to treatment, we miss crucial opportunities to address the basis of an individual’s involvement with our criminal legal system while significantly reducing their recidivism.
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