How is it not a surprise to me that the detention centers provided for our youth are not equipped for the mentally ill? Who is to say that ANY jail facilities are equipped for these inmates? I feel strongly that people incarcerated in these places are in detention centers because they indeed are mentally ill, in turn causing them to have committed such actions leading to their incarceration. On the other hand, there are those who are incarcerated by mistake and simply for reasons that are often deemed minor in a society where murderers roam the street as we eat, sleep, and breathe. .
The major problem is that these people, whether mentally ill before entering, or those who have become ill upon entering these facilities need treatment! The country would save so much money by treating these patients because it would decrease the chance of them committing further crime. I also find it important that these inmates have proper communication with their families and those that they will listen to most. I am certain that this problem was a definite occurrence in the past, but as the country has ignored it, of course it is going to multiply over the years. What doesn't get worse if not treated? It's like a strain of illness unless treated it will only worsen until the body itself fights it off, or it fights the body off and kills the person. So which would our society rather have? Someone who is treated and moves on to live a happy life, less likely to kill others, or someone bottled up in a jail cell with a psychiatric illness who is very likely of injuring or abusing themselves or others. .
Bottom line, by reading this article I am completely upset that this problem is being ignored. It is obvious these people are mentally ill, and things will never get better if these ill inmates are locked up twenty-four seven with other mentally ill convicts. .
The following is a quote was obtained in another article based on the same topic discussed in, "Detention Centers Not Equipped for Troubled Inmates".
