Special Needs Prisoner

Special Needs captive David Thompson University of Phoenix Special Needs Pris oner The American penal system is comprised of every element of society imaginable. there are nation from all walks of life being held in one prison or another across our great country for crimes theyve pull or allegedly committed against mankind. Be it at the state, federal or county level, the U. S. prison system does not discriminate with regards to those who are physically challenged.Be it a prisoner who is psychologically challenged or one whom is confined to a wheelchair, if they lease committed a crime and are found guilty of such, they allow for be sentenced to facility that under most circumstances are supply to handle prisoners with special take. Take for example the criminally insane or those suffering with various kinds of genial illness Round about 1955 the matter of mental institution experienced a drawdown of types, in that they were not structure any new facilities, despite the f act that approximately forty of the actual ones had been shut down or were scheduled to be shut down.This change prompted the prison system to take over the role of caring for mentally ill inmates. As more than and more prisons grew so did the role of the prison system to assistance for the influx of the special needs prisoners. Prisons were able to house and care for whatsoever 45,000 prisoners including those who were mentally ill, compared to that of a mental institutions ability to house some 3000 in a mental hospital. by chance one of the biggest drawback or downfalls related to this concept is that of the ability to rehabilitate the mentally ill.Because the prison system was/is not geared for actions such as this, umteen of those who are diagnosed with a mental illness usually come themselves overhaul their time, only to return to confinement a few years later, overdue to the prison systems inability to adequately treat and card for their sickness. But permits not t hrow this all on the prison system, as the private sector has just as much responsibility for this dearth/s as does the penal system.Many communities simply do not behave the funds necessary to open and operated courses to take care of the mentally ill. For those that do have something in place to combat the problem, their efforts seem to fall farther short of the need. There seems to be far more muckle in need of answer than the help that is available, and the more we look into the problem the more we see that this is not just limited to adult men and women, merely children as well.The end result of which is the criminally insane sometimes find themselves back on the streets, as does umteen of the mentally ill. While enslavement may be somewhat more difficult on soul with a mental illness, prison officials try and combat this by admit the mentally ill in separate wards, to reduce violence, combat stress, and observe order. Prison officials today try and provide speciali zed training and weaponed to those who work with the mentally ill.Although improvements have been made, there is still much to fall upon as some patients do not transition well into some of the rehabilitation programs made available to them for example the Drug and Alcohol program, many officials think that mentally ill patients can and does usually become passing disruptive, during counseling sessions, which causes setbacks and limits the progress of others. Therefore, many of the disable, mentally ill, or otherwise heavy to reach inmates/patients are turned away from rehabilitative parts of the program built around small group settings.Honestly speaking, there is very dwarfish room for care of the mentally ill within the prison system, as few places are equipped with the staff and specialist needed to care for these special patients. Try as we may, we cant effectively authorize the connection needed to make a difference in these individuals lives. non to mention the attitud e/s the outside community takes towards those suffering with mental handicaps.The lack of compassion, care and concern towards these less fortunate individuals does little to help the situation inside or outside prison walls, as were all struggling to make the best of a bad situation. We moldiness stay focused and be extremely flexible as we seek to make changes in this area, in particular in that every disappointment has the potential to have widespread affects on everyone, including the department, and the community into which some of these people may be released.Taking a lackluster attitude towards helping these people rebuild their lives simply will not work. We must be committed to the care of prisons with special needs just as if they were able to relent whatever treatment is available. Combating mental illness is not easy, but in most cases it can be done. References The Sentencing Project (Washington, DC), (2002), Mentally Ill Offenders in the Criminal Justice System An A nalysis and Prescription, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation http//nicic. gov/Libary/017558