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Annotated Bibliography: Mass Incarceration Of The Mentally Ill

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Annotated Bibliography Mass incarceration of the mentally ill: Should we revert back to Institutionalization? Etter, Gregg W. Sr., et al. "The Jail as a Dumping Ground: The Incidental Incarceration of Mentally Ill Individuals." Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law & Society, vol. 21, no. 1, Mar. 2008, pp. 79-89. Gregg W. Etter Sr. et al. describes how deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill has unintentionally increased the number of individuals with mental illness that are incarcerated. They argue that interactions between police and the mentally ill have grown as mental health service facilities have been closed. The patients of these closed facilities have been sent out into society without suitable support. They …show more content…

This is important information to understand and be aware, due to the increased number of mentally ill jailed, in life imprisonment, or on death row. Understanding the history of the problem and how it came to be can help the system gain knowledge on how to find a solution. The authors citing statistical information helped reinforce their argument however some information was observational. Observational information is good data however it cannot be used to determine causation. More information on the mental patient’s rights movement would have helped to understand a different aspect of the argument but overall an insightful …show more content…

Incarceration has become a revolving door for the mentally ill that arguably began with deinstitutionalization. The facility closes, the mentally ill individual is out on the street, individual acts in a perceivably deviant manner, get arrested, jailed, released and round and round they continue until they end up in a prison or on death row. The point of view of a 30-year law enforcement veteran is a welcome sight. Rather than continue to be part of a problem Kincaid has taken initiative to help create a program to divert the mentally ill from the system and get them help. In the first 18 months of the program, it was reported that 584 people were diverted from potential arrest. This is a large number of individuals able to avoid incarceration due to behavior associated with mental illness and they were also able to get professional help. I am curious about other statistics such as the impact it has had on the higher levels of crime such as assault and homicide. It’s also worth noting that the article did not disclose the costs of running this program or how it is being funded. I feel that Fairfax County has a good idea and with more details, it may be useful across the

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