Incarceration of Non-Violent Mentally Ill Persons is Cruel

KEEP THE PROMISE COALITION

CREATING AWARENESS OF CONNECTICUT'S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

WHO WE ARE

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

STOP THE INCARCERATION OF NON-VIOLENT PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

JAILING THE MENTALLY ILL? THE BEST IDEA WE COULD COME UP WITH?

The state’s failure to provide adequate housing and supports for people with serious mental illnesses has pushed people with mental illness into the prison system where they are least able to cope, do not receive appropriate care, and are more likely to remain there. People with mental illness are no more violent than other people. In fact, they are more often the victims of violence. Many individuals with psychiatric disorders in the prison system are non-violent offenders who do not belong in the prison system. Experts tell us, along with good sense, that “prisons are the worst possible environments for individuals experiencing serious psychiatric symptoms”.

Key Facts:

1) Currently, more than 20% of persons incarcerated in CT prisons and jails suffer from a mental illness. Since 2000, the number of inmates with moderate to serious mental illnesses rose from 2,200 to over 3,800 today.

2) Connecticut’s successful jail diversion program for persons with mental illness who commit non-violent crimes is unable to serve individuals identified as appropriate for their program due to the lack of housing options and community services. As a result, they are incarcerated at a high cost to taxpayers and the person.

3) It costs significantly more to house a person with mental illness in a prison setting than it does to provide supportive housing in the community (~ $40,000 vs. $13,000).

4) When people with mental illness are not linked to the appropriate services many of these individuals end up falling through the cracks of the treatment systems and into the criminal justice system.

5) Reports show that prisoners with mental illnesses often find themselves in violation of the prison rules through the exhibition of their symptoms, have greater than average disciplinary rates, are more likely to serve their full sentence, and are more likely to be abused in prison. People with mental illnesses serve longer and harder time.

6) Services, including treatment, supportive housing and employment, need to be offered on a much broader scale to reverse the trend of reincarceration related to technical violations.

7) Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), police who are trained to interact with someone in a psychiatric crisis, are a necessary step in building a comprehensive, cost-effective, community-based care system through which police can divert individuals to local treatment facilities to access medications, housing assistance and supported employment.

8) Mental health alternatives to incarceration will reduce unnecessary incarcerations of people with psychiatric disorders by providing the courts with immediate access to treatment and programming. The state must provide residential alternative to incarceration options, in order to reach the most high risk population.

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Last Updated on March 24, 2008