NCJ Number
138279
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 89-102
Date Published
1992
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reviews statistical studies of psychiatric disorders in jail populations and presents a statistical analysis of 272 mentally ill inmates evaluated for competency at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Forensic Unit during 3 years.
Abstract
Of the 272 defendants evaluated for competency, 28.68 percent were found to be incompetent. They were diagnosed as having primarily chronic schizophrenia or antisocial personality disorder with polysubstance dependence. Dysthymia, passive-aggressive personality disorder, and bipolar disorders were also found. The authors conclude that the diagnostic categories and their percentages in this study reflect the gamut and percentage of psychiatric illnesses present in that 20 percent of the jail population that is usually not directed to a forensic unit for competency evaluation. The findings of the current study confirm previous reports. The authors designate mentally ill jail detainees as "pseudo-offenders," since they are deemed not to belong in the criminal justice system but rather in the mental health system for treatment. The growing percentage of mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system is viewed by the authors as "escapism from psychiatrization," as more and more offenders avoid psychiatric assessment-treatment and competency evaluation in favor of strictly criminal justice disposition of their cases. Most mentally ill pseudo-offenders have the presence of mind to prefer criminal justice rather than psychiatric processing, since their institutionalization in the mental health system is of indeterminate length. The authors recommend that the mental health and criminal justice systems work together to identify the pseudo-offenders and direct them to psychiatric facilities for treatment and counseling. 1 table and 32 references