NCJ Number
206726
Journal
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: 2004 Pages: S25-S30
Date Published
2004
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the mental health problems of prisoners and the challenges and opportunities for practicing psychiatry within penal settings, with a focus on the United Kingdom.
Abstract
Worldwide there are more than 8.75 million people in prison; half of whom are in correctional institutions in the United States, Russia, and China. In England and Wales, the prison population turns over rapidly, with approximately 180,000 people passing through the system each year. An important study of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales found that 9 out of 10 prisoners had at least 1 measurable mental disorder. Moreover, the suicide rate in prisons is far higher than what would be expected in the general population and it has risen considerably over the past two decades. The delivery of healthcare, particularly mental health care, within prisons is greatly impacted by societal pressures and the criminal justice ideology of the time. Penal policies have alternatively emphasized rehabilitation, retribution, or restorative functions in different times and in different cultures. The World Health Organization’s Health Prison Project has attempted to bring together the rehabilitative and health perspectives within prisons. While in the past health care within prisons has operated outside of the training and organizational structures of the National Health Services, policy changes within the past 10 years have ensured that prison healthcare systems now operate no differently than within communities. Community mental health teams, with consultant psychiatric leadership, will provide secondary mental health care to prisoners. As such, it is hoped that prison psychiatry will become a routine part of training and career pathway for professionals in the mental health field. References