student respond

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date
The Criminal Justice System and Mentally Ill Patients
I have learned that state and federal prisons incarcerate significant numbers of mentally ill patients (Corrigan et al. 288). The other troubling reality that I found from the book was the fact that criminal justice officials regard the provision of mental care to mentally ill prisoners as a burden (290). However, it is also apparent that the behaviors of the law enforcers or police officers are partly responsible for the incarceration of many individuals with mental illnesses. Therefore, the police should apply two common-law principles when handling people with mental illnesses. One of the principles is their authority and power to protect the welfare and safety of the society. The second principle is the paternalistic authority of the state that mandates the protection of disabled citizens (290).
While considering both principles, I realized that the behavior of certain police officers contravenes their obligation to protect the welfare and safety of the society, as well as the safety of people living with disabilities like mental illness. The criminalization hypothesis attempts to explain the placement of mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system (291). From the theory, I have learned that people with mental disorders that ought to be hospitalized find themselves in the criminal justice system. Police officers are continuously arresting mentally ill individuals for minor offenses instead of helping to admit the patients into mental care facilities.

I also found the “psychiatrization” of criminal behavior as a compelling explanation for the rising number of incarcerated mentally ill individuals. According to Corrigan et al. (292), the theory reveals a shift in the obligation of handling deviant behavior from the criminal justice system to mental care facilities.
Work Cited
Corrigan, Patrick W., et al. Principles and practice of psychiatric rehabilitation: An empirical approach. Guilford press, 2012.