WK 1 Discussion: Answer Discussion question 250 word. Respond to 3 classmates 250 words each.
Objectives:
CO1: Summarize the link between mental illness and criminal behavior.
CO2: Analyze the social responses to mental illness historically and through discussion of current events.
Discussion #1: How do you feel that current events have influenced perceptions of mental illness and criminal behavior? How does this differ from the historical perspective?
Classmate 1 Katie: It is my opinion that current events have a great influence over society’s perception of the relationship that mental illness and criminal behavior go hand in hand. Sadly, it seems that whenever there is a mass shooting and/or horrific act of violence that takes place involving a firearm the first thing we hear the media start shouting about “Gun Control and Mental Illness”. There have been studies conducted that found that as many as two-thirds of all mass shooters likely suffer/suffered from mental illness prior to their crime sprees. The shooters often present with clear signs of delusional thinking, paranoia, or irrational feelings of oppression connected with illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar related psychosis (Swearer, 2019).
I feel that many members of our society think that the cure to end mental illness and criminal behavior alike is to ban and/or isolate it; merrily the tactic of out of sight out of mind. Furthermore, this is seems to me the exact reason why mental illness and criminal behavior are viewed in the same light in which society for the most part has turned a blind eye in general. This has resulted in the lack of resources for the mentally ill which in turn leads them into the criminal justice system, as often they use illegal substances to self-medicate in attempts to feel “better”, “numb” out, and/or quiet the voices in their head. In our text this week it states ” In short, when persons with co-occurring disorders- most of them with SMIs and substance abuse and dependence disorders- come to the attention of police, officers have no choice but to arrest them, given the lack of available referrals within narrowly defined treatment systems (Brown, Ridgely, Pepper, Levine