Criminology and Penology Assignment 2022

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Running head: CRIMINOLOGY AND PENOLOGY
Criminology and Penology
Author’s Name
Institution
Professor’s Name
Course

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Criminology and Penology
Introduction/Background
According to World Health Organization (2018), mental health is described as “a state
of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the
normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make contributions
to his or her community” (Sowunmi, Onifade, & Ogunwale, 2018, 2). Mental illness can be
defined as a psychological health disorder, which comprises distinct sorts of psychological
health issues. These disorders often affect the mood, behavior, and the thinking capability of
an individual. Some of the most ordinary issues of mental health entail schizophrenia, worry,
addictive behaviors and eating disorder. It is evident that many people have been facing the
issues of mental health that turn into illness when an individual is on continuous stress.
Mental illness often has an impact on the thoughts as well as the emotions of a person (Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2019). According to the report published by
World Health Organization (2005), the rate of people suffering from mental disorder is high
all around the world. In this context, prisons are considered to be a bad thing for an individual
suffering from mental health issue. There are various factors that can lead the prisoners to
suffer from different psychological issues. These factors embrace overcrowding of prison,
violence, lack of privacy and enforced solitude. In addition, the other aspects comprise
insecurity and improper health services among others. These identified adverse mental health
conditions often lead the prisoners to commit suicide (World Health Organization, 2005).
Workers, who are working in the emergency along with security services, are found to
be more exposed to occupational stressors as compared to other professional groups.
Symptoms related to mental health problems that encompass depression, anxiety, restlessness
and communal dysfunction are found to weaken the quality of life among the correctional

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officers. These disorders also have severe implications with respect to the comfort of co-
workers along with the penitentiary populace. Nevertheless, the commanding impact of job
demands of correctional officers and inadequate support received from managers also affects
the mental health conditions of the officers (Kinman, Clements, & Hart, 2017). On the other
hand, prisons at times are used as dumping ground for the individuals having psychological
illness. Herein, individuals are locked up due to a lack of health services. Hence, these
identified health issues are often “unnoticed, undiagnosed and untreated” (World Health
Organization, 2005). The burden of this issue all across the globe has become a matter of
concern. 1 out of every 9 people suffers from mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression
(Nseluke & Siziya, 2011).
Contextually, Nigeria is observed to have inadequate structured services related to
correctional mental health problems, which are caused due to the persistence of socio-
economic as well as legal factors. At present, the prison environment in Nigeria is found to
have gaps in treating the prisoners. Hence, in order to overcome this gap, community-based
approach needs to be implemented into the Nigerian primary healthcare services. This
particular approach considers deliverance of quality training to the staff members by
following the suggested guidelines of World Health Organization Mental Health Gap Action
Program Intervention Guide (Ogunlesi & Ogunwale, 2018).
Aim and Objectives
Aim
The proposed study intends to highlight the mental health issues that are being faced by
the Nigerian prison/ correctional officers. In order to attain this aim, the below objectives
have been framed for the proposed research:
 To explore the mental health issues being faced by correctional officers in prisons

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 To identify the challenges that have been affecting the mental health of the
correctional officers
 To determine the mental health issues that are prevalent in the prison of Nigeria
 To identify the dilemmas that the correctional officers in Nigeria face at the time of
treating prisoners
 To comprehend the significance of correctional mental health services in the
penitentiary of Nigeria
Rationale
In the present scenario, depressive disorder is observed to be one of the undiagnosed
and untreated along with being undertreated mental health conditions in prisons (Uche &
Princewill, 2016). The reason for conducting the proposed research is to understand the
mental health dilemmas that are prevalent in the penitentiary of Nigeria and how these affect
the prison/ correctional officers. This proposed study will further help in highlighting health
issues that the correctional officers are facing in prison in general along with identifying the
challenges that they face in-depth. In addition, another important reason for conducting this
proposed research is to recognize the problem of mental health infirmity in the prisons of
Nigeria and correctional officers in details. Furthermore, through this study, the significance
of the issue can also be understood in a clear manner. Since the information related to the
mental health service in the prison of Nigeria is observed to be lacking, this study will focus
on providing the same to have an adequate understanding of the issue. “The percentage of
prisoners with psychosis is 2–5%, while the corresponding percentage for mental retardation
is less than 2%.
Regarding mental health activities in the criminal justice system, some prisons (21–
50%) have at least one prisoner per month in treatment contact with a mental health