Correlation Between Mental Illness and Violence and Crime Essay

In this article , the author Professor James Alan Fox discusses that it is an average of 9,289 people killed by someone with some type of mental health issue. Also, he speaks about the FBI’s crime reports between the years of 2007-2011. Statistics had shown that the U.S had an average of 13,700 homicides. He states that, if lives need to be saved, then the people that are making these deaths happen have to receive some type of treatment. Fox article is a reliable source because he discusses the failure of how the ones’ committing these crimes are still out here on the streets. He is a reliable source because he is a Professor at Northeastern University of Criminology, Law and Public Policy.

In addition, “The perceived link between mental illness and violence could lie in television and films that sensationalize murders committed by mentally ill persons…” (Callahan). The problem with people with mental illness being categorized as being violent is with popular TV shows showing people crimes such as murder being committed by people with mental illnesses. The media also plays a huge role in the reason why people with mental health issues are thought of as violent because they talk more about crimes such as murder being done where mental illness played a

Each of these theories had led to many new theories used today, such as the Rational Choice theory, Biosocial and Psychological Theory, Critical Theory, Cultural Deviance Theory, Life Course Theory, and many more. The one thing in common with every theory is that they all explain at least one behavioral factor that leads to crime. Today, all these theories, and more, are researched and taken into account when trying to understand why a criminal does what they do.

If we look at the mentally ill and their lifestyles, we might find ourselves asking if there is some type of relationship between their illness and their criminal records. We might just assume that some people are not able to be controlled or that they just refused help. However, throughout the years the number of inmates, especially ones with mental illness have increase. This due to the prison systems being treated as the new asylums. From a macro-level analysis, the mentally ill are affected by the environment and vice versa.

This essay will look at the public understanding of the nature of mental disorder and to what extent it is associated with dangerousness and violence. The essay will begin by exploring the public’s perspectives and opinions on the matter and the impact that the mentally ill have on crime rates. Specific social perspectives will also be explored..

The second theory I would like to discuss is the Strain theory. The strain theory basically states that crime breeds in the gap, imbalance, or disjunction between culturally induced aspirations for economic success and structurally distributed possibilities of achievement. The theory assumes fairly uniform economic success aspirations across social class and the theory attempts to explain why crime is concentrated among the lower classes that have the least legitimate opportunities for achievement. It is the combination of the cultural emphasis and the social structure which produces intense pressure for

The article Mentally Ill Inmates Prone to Violence After Release: Study by Robert Preidt on September 3rd 2015 in Healthday discusses how prisoners with mental and substance-use disorders are more likely to commit violent crimes after their release than other inmates. Researchers did a study of ex-convicts in Sweden to get their results. 42 percent of men and 60 percent of women were diagnosed with at least one mental disorder prior to release. Researchers have found that the more co-existing psychiatric disorders the ex-inmates had, the greater risk of committing violent crimes. One in seven prisoners has a psychotic illness or major depression. In an average of three years, one quarter of men and 11 percent of women were convicted of

Another theme which ties a link between mental illness and crime is vulnerability. After speaking with a few officers, vulnerability and low state of mind was an occurring issue which influenced people to commit crimes. Sgt Haworth went on to describe his own interpretation of what mental illness is through his own experiences.

If we want to reduce violent crime we must understand why these crimes occur. According to biological and psychological Biological and psychological theories perhaps begin to explain why some individuals are more likely than others to commit deviance,

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the relation between gun violence and mental disorders and/or diseases. Within we will find if the violence in society is truly an issue, or if the real issue is the mental health and sanity of our society.

Mental health and the criminal justice system have long been intertwined. Analyzing and understanding the links between these two subjects demands for a person to go in to depth in the fields of criminology, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, because there are many points of view on whether or not a person’s criminal behavior is due to their mental health. Some believe that an unstable mental state of mind can highly influence a person’s decision of committing criminal actions. Others believe that mental health and crime are not related and that linking them together is a form of discrimination because it insinuates that those in our society that suffer from poor mental health are most likely to become a criminal due to their

Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem.

Crime is seen as any deviant act that is dangerous or harmful socially and is considered to be prohibited and punishable under laws of crime(Siegel, 2007). Deviant behavior includes a wide range of behaviors which are considered to be out of line with the social norms in a given society. It is deduced from this definition that criminal acts are deviant which a society considers harmful to them and prohibits them(Siegel, 2007).

A small group of people with mental illness (those with severe and untreated symptoms of schizophrenia with Psychosis, major depression or bi-polar mood disorder) may have an increased rate of violence. In this group, Individuals who are suffering from psychotic symptoms that cause them to feel threatened or manipulated by Outside forces have a greater tendency towards violent behaviour. In spite of this, with early assessment and Appropriate treatment, individuals with severe illness are no more dangerous than the general population. Community treatment programs have also been found to be helpful in the management of behaviours that lead to crime.

In recent years, there has been a higher prevalence of articles in the media in relation to mental illness and crime. This is due to a higher focus of research in the past half-century by criminal psychologists into the relationship between mental illness and violence. A conclusion has then come of this research that people with mental health problems are at increased risk of violent offending. This is determined through classification and misclassification of mental illness and clinical aspects of violence. However, there are also seen to be additional factors and trends that impact a person with mental illness’s likelihood of becoming a violent offender.