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Criminology


(Congress 2000) The mentally ill have become criminalized when in fact, they didn't often have a choice or maintain the facilities to judge right from wrong. In the early 1960s-70s there were many mental hospitals full of the mentally ill. Now there are many mentally ill in the criminal justice system. The shift in residency of the mentally ill from hospitals to the criminal justice system is the result of deinstitutionalization, which occurred in the early 1990's. The impetus began in the 1970's to eliminate the infamous mental institutions. These "warehouses- of the past were known for their sparse living conditions, brutal treatment of patients, and harsh medical procedures and treatments such as electroshock therapy. Concern for the civil rights of mentally ill persons, a desire to cut costs, and a hope that new medications could replace supervised care spurred the movement to close the institutions. .
             However, when these institutions were closed, there were no conditions made to facilitate the recovery of the patients. They were simply dumped' into the streets with no further plans for recovery. In fact, a majority of the deinstitutionalized mentally ill had anosognosia, a condition that made them unable or unwilling to recognize their illness. In the civil rights conscious state of the era, they were allowed to make their own decisions regarding their need for treatment. Not surprisingly, many went off of their medication and lost touch with mental health care centers. .
             Without family or a means to earn money for rent, many turned to life on the streets. They were then arrested on minor charges by police under social pressure to fix the rising problem-the homeless population. Approaching one third of homeless people have a psychological disorder. .
             Homelessness is one of the common traits found in criminals. In fact, state prisons, federal prisons and local jails have had 20, 19, and 30% respectively, of their inmates having been homeless at least one year prior to the arrest.


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