Mentally Ill in Jails, Part 1–The Scope of the Problem
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21 responses to “Mentally Ill in Jails, Part 1–The Scope of the Problem”
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You’re off to a good start. I look forward to the next two parts.
I am hoping that at some point you’ll be able to discuss the comparative costs of housing the mentally in in jail/prison versus housing them in specialized facilities for the mentally ill and/or providing outpatient treatment.
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Ah, money, money, money. Repair shops are expensive, warehouses are cheap.
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Yes. Want to see if Mr. B will echo his usual complaint about “MO MONEY” !
MO MONEY to fix schools is not good so probably not good for fixing mentally ill either.
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Don’t forget the dichotomy of punishment and rehabilitation for the criminal element as well.
One thing on which 90% of American women agree, we need more penal reform.
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but heckfire, if it just increases costs and raises taxes, what good is it?
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With respect go guns and killings, it is claimed that the problem is really “mental illness” and that we need to do MORE about that – rather than regulate guns.
Do you concur with that and support more efforts to deal with mental illness to reduce murders and killings?
Would that be “cost effective” ?
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Thank you for the informative and thoughtful tome. I’m not sure we have figured out what to do with the mentally ill and/or have the will to really address it.
It was not that long ago there was discussion about closing facilities and turning folks lose to live on the streets. And now, some of them are homeless and others in jail.
Is this a “failure” of government as we often read here in BR about other things?
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In Virginia:
The average cost per day for a prison inmate is 60 bucks.
The average cost per day in state mental hospital is 650 bucks.-
Ah, the conservative solution is keep it cheap, whereas the liberal would spend so that both are 650.
Rehabilitation is expensive.
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Not this conservative. I supported Creigh Deeds proposed reforms. I think it would be a worthwhile investment long term. Helping those in need and keeping our streets safe is always worth pulling the check book out.
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Especially when done with the same dollar.
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but not something you normally see Conservatives out at the public hearings supporting more money for………
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Bad ole Mr. Larry that is a stereotype.
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You’ve seen Conservatives at hearings calling for more spending? YOW!
😉
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re: ” the jails were not designed for the mentally ill”.
and here it comes… wait for it… the “solution” is…… MO MONEY!
The taxpayer lament: ” All I’m trying to do is keep my hard earned money and everytime I turn around, the govmint is trying to take more of it!
😉
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Lacking better and/or more comprehensive data, let’s assume Mr. Whitehead’s incarceration cost numbers are correct. Let’s also assume that the reported 7,850 mentally ill arrestees in our jails during the month of July 2018 is the average over the course of a year.
We can then compute a rough annual cost of keeping mentally ill arrestees in hospitals instead of jails as:
7850 x (650-60) x 365 = $1,690,497,500
S0, +/-$1.7 billion per year added to the state budget to address the problem – assuming we have bed space for that many people, and that the courts will allow the involuntary commitment of that many people.
How do you suggest we raise the money?
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It will be costly, but not that costly. For example, not all of those in jail will need to be hospitalized. Most can be managed in the community. Furthermore, few would meet the criteria for involuntary commitment. I plan to address the cost angle briefly in an upcoming installment.
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Thank you.
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the usual way?
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RE: The investigation into the death of Jaymycheal Mitchell – “The inspector general, citing guidance from the state attorney general, said it lacked jurisdiction to question jail personnel…”
Does anyone remember who was AG of Virginia in 2015/16?
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