An Analysis of Mental Illness Treatment in the Criminal Justice System

This report investigates the fair treatment of mental illness within the criminal justice system, focusing on the UK context. It begins by posing the research question of whether mental illness is fairly treated in this system. The report examines the impact of mental illness on criminal behavior and the disproportionate representation of mentally ill individuals in the justice system, considering factors like severe crime control procedures and drug laws. A literature review covers key issues such as the mental health of offenders, their rights, and the availability of mental health services within prisons. It highlights the importance of training prison officers to recognize mental health issues and the need for 24/7 access to mental health experts. The report also includes a research outline that details the research question, problem, and methodology, including research philosophy (interpretivism), approach (inductive), design (exploratory), and strategy (literature review). Data collection methods are also discussed, involving the use of secondary sources such as websites, journals, and government reports. The report concludes with a bibliography of primary and secondary sources used in the research.

Running head: RESEARCH PLAN 0
CRIMINAL LAW
JANUARY 7, 2020
STUDENT DETAILS:

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Research question or statement
The research question of this research plan is ‘whether the mental illness in criminal justice
system is fairly treated?
Research problem and interest
This research study is helpful to create understanding about fair treatment of mental illness in
criminal justice system. This study is also useful for readers to know more information about
mental illness. It can be also effective for the people to understand the way and remedies to get
out of the mental illness. In addition to the common as well as severe mental disorder, there are
different characteristics of the individuals in the legal system, which may present specific issues
or problems. This study is relevant to tell that the criminals have similar rights to access health
as other people. It also evaluates the interventions to be used for mentally disordered offenders1.
Literature review -
Mental sickness in criminal justice system –
The mental illness is a problem that is faced by criminal justice system on regular basis. The
mental health plays important role in crimes. The mental illness is not considered as the main
cause of criminal conduct. The mental illness is not mainly accountable for the disproportionate
criminal justice system representation of the people with mental. Somewhat, the severe crime
1 Gerry Owen and others, ‘Mental capacity and psychiatric in-patients: implications for the new mental health law
in England and Wales’ [2009] Br J Psychiatry 195

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controlling procedures as well as The Draconian Drug Laws2 are helpful for the seemingly great
numbers of persons with mental sickness who are detained along with imprisoned. In addition,
various elements can create a problem with mental sickness and criminal justice system.
Moreover, there are various examples of the mental illnesses including anxiety, threat, tenseness,
and apprehension about something that can take place in upcoming period. The people across the
country suffer from chronic mental sickness, which can put impact on different factors of the life
of prison. It can put negative impacts on employment, personal relationship, as well as the
involvement of criminal activities. The ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is
considered as the mental disorder that is featured by the lessened capability to control level of
activities (hyperactivity) to perform various tasks3.
Treatment of people having mental illness in criminal justice system
In United Kingdom, persons with mental illness in criminal justice system are required to be
fairly treated as same as other people. They should have same rights like others. The officers of
administration of jail and prison should be competent to recognise a problem of mental fitness. It
is required that mental health experts such as psychiatrists should be available twenty-four hours
in a day or 7 days in the week. In this way, these mental health experts can assess the potential
crises. In addition, they should also recommend the emergency medication in incarceration
facilities. These are certain examples of the health issues that cannot be recognized by untrained
2 The Draconian Drug Laws
3 Vigdis Sveinsdottir and Bond Gary, Barriers to employment for people with severe mental illness and criminal
justice involvement (Routledge 2017)

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officers. It is essential to train the officers of jail or prison because sometimes they do not
understand the signs as well as conducts, which go along with the mental sickness4.
Moreover, a dilemma can see in a matter of Andrea Yates, thirty-six years old native of Texas
that drowned her 5 kids. Many horrified by the crime in hope she will be discipline and others
had mix emotion. It came out during the hearing that she was mentally ill suffering from
postpartum psychosis but was it only the defence tactic. It is stated by the supporter, “the Justice
Department Enquiry from 1999 assess that mentally sick convicts are to be approximately
sixteen per cent of whole population. Analyst says fair treatment of the mental ill often outshined
by disagreement to utilisation of the insanity defence, which certain claim abused the manner to
get away with crime. As per the report, the insanity defence is utilised in not more than one per
cent of all criminal hearings.” In this way, the issue still moves forward as debate of justice
system on how to manage these circumstances. This problem becomes the accountability, as it is
what nation has condensed in a criminal justice system. For this objective, this is necessary to
know their duties along with accountability that criminal justice system has in conducting
additional research on the methodologies. To ensure right of people with psychological disorder,
it is required to enhance a treatment of mentally sick criminals as well as conduct for the
criminal emotionally5.
In addition, the number of criminals with mentally sickness imprisoned is gradually increasing.
There are about 7% of mentally sick criminals in jail within population of United Kingdom6. The
approach to the individual assessment would be choosing people whom have had prior encounter
with criminal justice system such as individual that entered the justice system and have treatment
4 John Frieda, The mental illness in criminal justice system (Cambridge University Press 2018)
5 George Daumit, Training to prisoner officials (Springer 2015)
6 Mien Easter, The criminal justice system (Oxford University Press 2015)

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from mental health experts hired by mental health court and not got bail. The choice of people
would involve mentally sick criminals presently developing the position in criminal justice
system. These involve but not restricted to criminal looking for treatment for the sickness,
criminals that are waiting for trial, and detainees from law-enforcement officials that have
applied The Bakers Act7 that is essential for correct and successful treatment.
Research outline
The research outline is used to conduct research in the methodological manner8. The research
outline is discussed as follows –
Research question or statement
This section will discuss the research question to know treatment of mental sickness in criminal
justice system.
Research problem
In the section of research problem or statement, the researcher will discuss the research concern
related to treatment of psychological sickness in a criminal justice system. This chapter also
develops the detailed information about the research limitations faced by research scholar during
the research. It can say that this chapter can be helpful for the research scholar to get directions
to conduct research. By following this, the researcher can explore the different laws and Acts
related to mental health9.
7 The Bakers Act
8 Tiera Blomberg, Advancing criminology and criminal justice policy (Routledge 2016)
9 Kein Beaver, The treatment manual for justice involved persons with mental illness: Changing lives and changing
outcomes (Routledge 2017)

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Literature review –
This chapter is performed to define research concern by applying different concepts, approaches
along with theories. The literature review is considered as summary of current published data.
This section provides evaluation of all sources. It is normally stated as the different sections of
the graduate dissertation10.
Research methodology
The next section is research methodology. In this section, the different methodologies along with
approaches are discovered to do research in methodological along with proper manner.
Research methodology –
The unit of research method is significant section of the research plan. This chapter includes
research philosophy, approach, strategy, research design as well as data collection method11.
Research philosophy –
The researcher collected the secondary data to give the answers to research questions. There are
3 categories of research philosophies, such as interpretivism, realism along with positivism
research philosophy. In this study, the interpretivism research philosophy is used by researcher
increase the quality of research. A choice of the research philosophy is depended on the
properties and relations. Interpretivism research philosophy is significant and valuable for
10 Eward Martin, Concise Medical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 8th edn, 2010)
11 Simon Bandara, The providers of mental health illness (Cambridge University Press 2016)

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investigator to get relevant as well as positive conclusions to know the relevancy of treatment of
mental sickness in criminal justice system. The realism as well as positivism research philosophy
is not helpful for the research scholar to conduct this research. The reason is that the positivism
and realism research philosophy is not relevant to get solution of this problem of research. There
is no need to apply greatly ordered method like constructing and rendering hypothesis and
evaluation of result according to interpretation12.
Research approach
It is important to select correct approach to justify and validate the chosen research methods and
design. By adopting proper research approach, a research scholar can be able to state the data or
facts in a logical manner. The knowledge of approach is active portion of the practical study
regardless the area of research. The research philosophy explains a position for herself or
himself, gather meaning of participant, highlights single phenomenon and concept, considers
own values or beliefs in the study, and provides data of members. There are different approaches
that can be utilised by research scholar such as deductive approach as well as inductive approach.
It also allows research scholar to justify the use of specific collection information for the
research. For this research paper, the inductive research approach is relevant with the
interpretivism research philosophy. The deductive research is relevant in case of positivism
research philosophy. By following inductive research approach, the investigator is able to get
reliable and proper results. The interpretivism approach is also useful for research scholar to
gather facts or information and get particular results about the fair treatment of mental sickness
12 David Chong and Jose Sonny, The Prevalence of Mental Illness within the Indian Criminal Justice System
(Oxford University Press 2017)

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in the legal system. Conversely, deductive research approach is not relevant for research scholar,
as investigator has not developed the hypothesis to respond the research questions13.
Research design
The research design is known as set of methodologies and set of process followed in collecting
and assessing the measure of the variables mentioned in issue of research. It is a strategy to
render correct answers to the research questionnaires. The impactful design usually creates
lowest bias in data. It also increases reliance on collected along with evaluated facts of research.
Research design that creates least edge of error or mistake in experimental research can be
displayed in good manner. There are various important elements of design to do research. There
are three types of research design, like descriptive, casual research design and exploratory
research design. Exploratory design describes main research, by following which a researcher
solves an issue of study by developing hypothesis. In the descriptive research design, a research
scholar has interest in defining situations or cases in the research study. This is the theory-based
design that is created by collecting and evaluating the collected data. In this project, the research
scholar used exploratory research design in place of casual research design as well as descriptive
research design. The ideas along with concepts of research scholar are main aspects as they are
mainly based on the personal inclination about the particular matter.
Research strategy
13 Omie Mennon, The people with mental sickness in United Kingdom (Cambridge University press 2017)

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This research starategy discusses a significant level in procedure to conduct research in related
area14. The strategy is significant factor that allows research scholar to assess research issue by
creating responses to research questionnaires in the well-effective way. There are different type
of research strategies. To collect secondary data, the research scholar used literature review. The
research strategy such as literature review is adopted by researcher because they permit
investigator for getting actual and sufficient facts related to fair treatment of the mental sickness
in the criminal justice system. With the help of literature review, the investigator is capable to
collect data and figures without so much cost and time15.
Data collection method
The data collection method is helpful in gathering information in procedural manner by adopting
different resources to get aim along with research objectives. There are 2 categories of data
collection technique such as primary along with secondary data collection method. The research
scholar has used different sources such as websites, journals, governmental articles,
governmental report, newspaper, magazine, and books. It can say that this data collection
methodology is important to create direct relation with participants to get beliefs.
14 George Robert, Associations between pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence and clinical and criminal justice
outcomes among adults with co-occurring serious mental illness (Springer 2018)
15 Brew Gates and Orein Barr, Oxford Handbook of Learning and Intellectual Nursing (Oxford University Press,
2009)

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Bibliography
Primary Sources
Statutes and statutory instruments
The Bakers Act
The Draconian Drug laws
Secondary Sources
Books
Bandara, S, The providers of mental health illness (Cambridge University Press 2016)
Beaver, K, The treatment manual for justice involved persons with mental illness: Changing
lives and changing outcomes (Routledge 2017)
Blomberg, T, Advancing criminology, and criminal justice policy (Routledge 2016)
Chong, D, and Sonny, J, The Prevalence of Mental Illness within the Indian Criminal Justice
System (Oxford University Press 2017)
Daumit, G, Training to prisoner officials (Springer 2015)
Easter, M, The criminal justice system (Oxford University Press 2015)
Frieda, J, The mental illness in criminal justice system (Cambridge University Press 2018)

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Gates, B, and Barr, O, Oxford Handbook of Learning and Intellectual Nursing (Oxford
University Press, 2009)
Martin, E, Concise Medical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 8th edn, 2010)
Mennon, O, The people with mental sickness in United Kingdom (Cambridge University press
2017)
Robert, G, Associations between pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence and clinical and
criminal justice outcomes among adults with co-occurring serious mental illness (Springer 2018)
Sveinsdottir, V, and Gary, B, Barriers to employment for people with severe mental illness and
criminal justice involvement (Routledge 2017)
Journal articles
Owen, G, and others, ‘Mental capacity and psychiatric in-patients: implications for the new
mental health law in England and Wales’ [2009] Br J Psychiatry 195