NCJ Number
136468
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Available information on the numbers and status of mentally disturbed offenders in Great Britain is summarized and current arrangements for dealing with them as well as areas of continuing concern are discussed.
Abstract
The number of prisoners referred to psychiatrists has increased in recent years. According to Home Office surveys, if all categories of disorder are included, an estimated 37 percent of male inmates and 56 percent of female inmates serving sentences exceeding 6 months may have a medically identifiable psychiatric disorder. Mentally disturbed offenders create management problems out of proportion to their numbers; however, prisoners who do not present immediate problems run the risk of being neglected in local prisons. Some research has suggested that imprisonment may aggravate an inmate's already existing mental disorder. In addition to the dispositions available for regular prisoners, the court can impose a probation order with a condition attached requiring the offender to attend a hospital or clinic or can make a number of other orders under the Mental Health Act of 1983. Mentally disturbed prisoners can be diverted from the criminal justice system by the police, prosecutors, or courts. It appears that failure to provide adequate services during a period of psychiatric hospital closures may have resulted in a high number of mentally ill persons being sent to prison. 41 notes