I want to clarify when I say the Canadian criminal justice system ‘punishes’ rather than helps the mentally ill I do not wholly mean directly punishes the mentally ill. I am going to talk about how lack of resources and proposed solutions indirectly punishes the mentally ill. When a mentally ill person gets involved with the criminal justice system there is some expectation that the criminal justice system will have ideas and resources on how to approach a situation with a mentally ill person. Hopefully they could provide mental health first aid by professionals and find an environment the mentally ill person can feel comfortable in to make progress with their mental health issue. The criminal justice system has stated in the past that they
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Mehta stated, “lack of funding is a huge problem, there are not enough beds for the mentally ill and he has seen people sit in chairs for days or play card games on the floor waiting to get help for their mental illness” (Mehta, 2016). The proper supports are not available yet and since they are not available it results in the revolving door phenomenon. The phenomenon is when the mentally ill person gets arrested and when they do not get the resources or the help they need, they are released back into the community where they are likely to reoffend and end up back in the criminal justice system. The police will keep arresting them because “law enforcement officers may be more inclined to charge persons with mental illness with a misdemeanor and take them to jail if they think that no appropriate alternatives are available”(Lamb, 2002, p.1267). For the police, they believe they have more control and have made a good decision because at least if they are in custody the mentally ill person will be seen by a mental health professional attached to the court and receive a risk assessment. Though most of the time while in custody they do not get the proper help they need. What the criminal justice system and the public need to understand is the solution to helping the mentally ill is not a one-size-fits-all approach because every person is different and may each require different supports. As well, the mentally ill person need to be involved in planning their services as much as they can by making personal goals and values on approaching how they will deal with their mental
Mehta stated, “lack of funding is a huge problem, there are not enough beds for the mentally ill and he has seen people sit in chairs for days or play card games on the floor waiting to get help for their mental illness” (Mehta, 2016). The proper supports are not available yet and since they are not available it results in the revolving door phenomenon. The phenomenon is when the mentally ill person gets arrested and when they do not get the resources or the help they need, they are released back into the community where they are likely to reoffend and end up back in the criminal justice system. The police will keep arresting them because “law enforcement officers may be more inclined to charge persons with mental illness with a misdemeanor and take them to jail if they think that no appropriate alternatives are available”(Lamb, 2002, p.1267). For the police, they believe they have more control and have made a good decision because at least if they are in custody the mentally ill person will be seen by a mental health professional attached to the court and receive a risk assessment. Though most of the time while in custody they do not get the proper help they need. What the criminal justice system and the public need to understand is the solution to helping the mentally ill is not a one-size-fits-all approach because every person is different and may each require different supports. As well, the mentally ill person need to be involved in planning their services as much as they can by making personal goals and values on approaching how they will deal with their mental