Jose, who was recently admitted to the cellblock, was reluctant to talk to

other inmates or prison staff from arrival even when approached in a

friendly matter. He preferred to be alone and often stared out into space,

and as time went on he became more irritable warning officers and

inmates to leave him alone. One day an inmate asked him for a cigarette

and he lost control injuring the inmate and two officers. Jose believed that

he was put in jail as a way to put pressure on him to tell the whereabouts

of his family. Later it was found that he felt it was part of a government

plot to take his family’s money (Sowers, Thompson, Mullins, 1999).

Correctional officers have a responsibility to maintain order and safety, but as seen in this story wh

There are varieties of reasons that mental health problems and severe mental illnesses are more common today in correctional settings. Sometimes mental illness can cause someone to break a law. Recently, hospital services for prisoners with severe mental illness cut back with out providing them with adequate care. This has left some that suffer from mental illness unable to care for themselves, and leads them to commit crime in order to survive because they are unable to control their behavior without proper treatment.

At certain times during the course of incarceration, the likelihood of developing mental health problems seems to increase, usually at times of intense stress (Sowers, Thompson, and Mullins, 1999). One of the most crucial times is during the first week of incarceration. If problems can be identified and given needed attention at this stage more severe, problems may potentially be avoided. A study of inmates in California county jails found that 6.7% had a severe psychiatric condition at the time of their admission interview. A table from L.A. Teplin (1990 and 1994) showed that of male detainees 3.4% had major depression, 3.0% had schizophrenia, 1.2% mania, and 6.1% any severe disorder. In the same table, female detainees showed 13.7% major depression, 1.8% schizophrenia, 2.2% mania, and 15.0 any severe disorder.

en mental illness is a factor this job becomes much more difficult.

What does all this mean for correctional officers? Prison personnel will ultimately be faced with difficult problems related to mental health. This problem can be reduced somewhat before it becomes too much for prison personnel by having some knowledge of what they are facing. By developing awareness of how the risk of developing mental illness can be reduced and by developing plans for reducing stress in the prison e

Some topics in this essay:
Thompson Mullins, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, , LA Teplin, Supreme Court, mental health, mental illness, Eighth Amendment, Amendment Osofsky, sowers thompson mullins, Sowers Thompson, thompson mullins 1999, mullins 1999, thompson mullins, sowers thompson, health services, drugs alcohol, correctional officers, jails prisons, osofsky 1996, mental health services, provision mental health, persons mental illness,