Mental Illness And Crime Essay

This essay will discuss the relationship between mental disorder and criminal behaviour, analysing how different factors may affect criminal activity. Definitions of mental disorders and crime are very broad under section one of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Participation, 1983). This introduces the complexity of the relationship between the definitions of mental disorder and criminal behaviour. The ICD-10 defines a ‘mental disorder’ as ‘the existence of a clinically recognizable set of symptoms or behaviour associated in most cases with distress and with interference of personal functions’ (WHO,1992: pp 11). This definition explores how mental disorders can vary and have a significant impact on an individual’s life, including their ability

Poverty stems from the effects of family income which leads to issues such as lack of education, employment, and necessities (Chase-Lansdale, 1995). Issues like these can result in individuals committing crimes as they are unable to have a secure education or earn a wage that they are comfortable to living on or providing for their families. This implies that in desperate need individuals can turn to crime for help. (Guardian,2021). Crimes involve minor to serious crimes. This is shown as ‘overall 52% more crimes were recorded in the most income- deprived areas in 2022’ (London’s poverty profile, 2022). Further, many crimes involved robbery sexual offences or drugs. Living in poverty further does not allow individuals to be cared for in a safe environment. This links to how poverty is often associated with high crime rates as ‘personal crime is 46% more prevalent in deprived areas as well as violent crime are 95% more prevalent’ (CSEW, 2018). This explains that in environments where individuals are living in poverty, they are more prone to commit a crime as this is the lifestyle that is normalised in these areas. Further, it implies that if younger children are being made normalised to this then they are more likely to engage in criminal activity due to learning what is deemed socially acceptable. Living in these conditions also

Prevention tactics should be put in place to avoid mental illness being used as a justification in society to hide people’s illegal behaviour. When we read the question ‘Link mental disorder and criminal behaviour’ we tend to jump to the conclusions that mental illness causes aggressive and violent behaviours. This is not the case, though. All patients should have access to mental health services so that those are involved in the criminal justice system but hasn’t committed a crime can receive justice. Additionally, having access to the right care would mean that those who have been given a diagnosis of a mental illness or who are suspected of having one would have a lower likelihood of engaging in criminal activity. Also, there should be interventions for those who have received a mental diagnosis such as psychotherapy. Results from psychotherapy have shown that around ‘75% of people who have entered psychotherapy show benefit from the therapy’ (American Psychological Association, 2016). This suggests that if a technique was used to assist individuals in coping with their circumstances and accepting their daily challenges, issues such as wrongful diagnoses can be solved. Therefore, a clear justification can be made for the potential impact an illness may have