Overview of Mental Illness, Violence and the Criminal Justice System in 2015

Ron Honberg, J.D.National Director of Policy and Legal Affairs

NAMI

Health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination of those) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

What are mental illnesses?

• Schizophrenia – 1%

• Bipolar Disorder – 2-3%

• Major Depression – 7%

• Anxiety Disorders (e.g. PTSD. phobias) – 18%

• 40% of people with substance use disorders have co-occurring mental illness

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Common Diagnoses Include

The risk of developing a mental illness is related to a variety of factors, including the following:• Biological.• Environmental.

What causes mental illness?

Are people living with mental illness more violent than the rest

of society?

“How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame—from a national media machine that rewards them with the wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave—while provoking others to try to make their mark? A dozen more killers? A hundred more? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation's refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill?”

Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice-PresidentNational Rifle Association (NRA)

“The system looks like Swiss cheese. It stops a lot of bad guys from getting guns, but it lets a lot of bad guys through. Every mental health record that isn’t in the system is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off in another community.”

Mark Glaze, Executive DirectorMayors Against Illegal Guns

• Young• Male• Less education• History of violence• Juvenile justice involvement• Divorced or separated in the last year• Threats (perceived or real).

Ellbogen and Johnson, “The Intricate Link Between Violence and Mental Disorder, Archives of General Psychiatry, 2009 (60(2), 152-161

General predictors of violence

• Generally, a serious mental illness diagnosis does not increase risk of violence.

• Risk does increase with:o Co-occurring substance use or dependence.o Past history of violenceo History of physical abuse or victimizationo Family criminal justice historyo Perceived threats from others

• Gun related suicides a much higher risk than gun related homicides.

Serious Mental Illness and Violence

Most people with mental illness are not violent and most acts of violence (with

guns or otherwise) are not committed by people with mental illness!

The Bottom Line

Seize the moment to reform our failed prison systemBy Newt Gingrich and Van Jones

• Convergence of Conservatives and Liberals on need forcriminal justice reform?

Decriminalizing mental illness

Leadership from the Criminal Justice System

The Sequential Intercept Model

Model developed by Mark Munetz and Patty Griffin

• Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act (S. 993, HR 1854)

• Mental Health and Safe Communities Act (S. 2002) provides resources for:– CIT– MH and Vets Courts– Forensic ACT programs– Enhanced correctional treatment.

For more information about these bills and others and what you can do, go to www.nami.org/advocacy.

Decriminalizing mental illness – Federal legislation.

• Call to Action to counties to reduce incarceration of people with mental illness in jails.

• Partners include CSG Justice Center, NACO, American Psychiatric Foundation, Major Sheriffs Association, and others.

• Counties being asked to:– Pass resolutions (more

than 120 to date including Johnson County, Indiana)

– Form stakeholder groups

– Gather baseline data

– Assess current capacity

– Implement effective practices

– Measure outcomes