Mental Illness and Offending

It is a collection of psychological conditions which have a characteristic that disables and/or distresses impairments in different aspects of an individual’s psychological functioning

The meaning is different between law and psychology

Very common among general population

Approx. 450 million people across the world have a mental health problem according to the world health organisation

ONS Psychiatry Morbidity Report states 1 in every 4 British adults will experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem a year

Mental Illness defined as any disorder of the mind

Personality disorders

Learning Disabilities

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Eating Disorder

Many believe that individuals with mental illnesses should receive specialist mental health treatment instead of punishment

72% of male prisoners and 70% of female prisoners suffer a mental disorder

Out of 500 homicide cases in England and Wales in 1996/7..

44% had a recorded mental disorder at some point in their life

14% displayed symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offence

8% were in contact with mental health service in the year prior to the offence

Axis I = Clinical disorders like depression or schizophrenia

Axis II = Personality disorders or mental retardation

Axis III = General medical conditions

Axis IV = Psychosocial and environmental problems

Axis V = Global Functioning

Command hallucinations are voices that tell the individual to do a certain act (in some cases this act is a crime) e.g. the Yorkshire ripper

Smith and Taylor 1999 carried out a study on male schizophrenic sex offenders…

94% had a form of delusion and/or hallucinations at time of offence

51% of these offenders stated the delusions were coincidental and had no bearing on attack

25% said their delusions were of a sexual or persecutory nature however did not reflect the characteristics of the assault

18% said that the delusions appeared to be directly related to the sexual assault

Discovered that a previous history of violent behaviour is the best predictor of future violence

Gender is a poor predictor of violence

Being victimised increases the risk of acting violently

Care givers and nurses are at the greatest risk

Poor social networks can be associated with violence

Some environments can be viewed as threatening

Homelessness / vagrancy can be associated with violent behaviour

The availability of a weapon increases the risk of violent behaviour

Criminal Justice System

Medical Services

Voluntary Services

Communities

Families

In England and wales an appropriate adult is appointed and diverted into the psychiatric system

If individual does not understand the difference between a guilty plea and a no guilty plea they will be unfit to make the plea

The Judge can decide that it is undesirable for the individual to give evidence, instead they will remand them to a hospital to be treated

If the individual does plead guilty with psychiatric evidence then the most common outcome will be a hospital order, however in some cases the individual may end up in prison, or with community treatment

The Miranda Rights protect individuals however these can be waived as result of mental illness, which puts the individual at risk

The individual is assessed and if decided unfit to plead they can be sent to a unit until they show they are competent enough to make a plea if done within a reasonable amount of time

The most common result is that the individual is sent to prison and receives psychiatric treatment while serving their sentence

The Parole Board has a Case review and will consider the individuals…

Behaviour in prison

Plans when they are released

Likelihood of reoffending, whether or not they are a danger to public

Reason for the sentence in the first place

Any previous offences

What was said by the Judge when the offender was first sentenced

The victim impact statement

Any medical, psychiatric and psychological evidence for or against the offender

Not much doubt about some forms of mental illness alleviating the likelihood of criminal behaviour

It is difficult to identify the most likely to be violent and/or criminal from the mentally ill

There are other factors, such as  alcohol or drug abuse that have larger effects on mental illness