Creating a Social Program Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Creating a Social Program - Term Paper Example Mentally ill persons in criminal justice system: Most of the mentally ill people are held in jail because they pose a good amount of threat to the people and to themselves. Previously the treatment incorporated insulin induced comas, freezing baths and shock treatment but in the late 1950’s the entire psychological fitness scene changed with the innovation and expansion of anti-psychotic treatment options. Mostly the offenders with the psychological illness do not get any sort of medications or special treatment during imprisonment. As a result of this lack of treatment facilities the conditions can get worse. The offenders may become a serious threat to the society or to themselves when they leave the jail. Therefore within the legal justice structure, the psychological health cases continue to be a serious challenge (Tracy, 2009) Treatment with mentally ill people: Sometimes the law enforcing people are not aware of the problem so the mentally ill people are kept with the no rmal prisoners but if diagnosed the mentally ill people in jails are not treated very well, as there is restriction with their movement in the jails, not allowed to meet people, less or almost no recreational activities etc. For apparent reasons, they are not provided with the televisions in their cells. The security concerns make it near to impossible for the correctional care takes and officials to take them to the fitness and exercise patio. These people are only allowed for 15 to 20 minutes to go out of their cells and provided them with the opportunity to have shower. Even this activity is also monitored. Usually the officers who are responsible for the security of these mentally ill people are not trained very properly so sometimes in odd situations they are not able to understand about how to deal with the particular situation and the consequences could be severe (James & Glaze, 2006). Aims: Our main aim is to propose and apply collaborative efforts among unlawful justice and psychological fitness systems. The program’s objective is to make improvement in the access system and to provide efficient handling for people with psychological problems concerned with the justice structure. The aim can be achieved through proper arrest, society based management, court appearances etc. It has been expected that almost one third or up to half of the imprisonments can be avoided if the mentally sick people are sent to proper places rather than taking them into the jails. A huge amount of money can be saved by simple changes in the system. It is proposed that if specialized training is provided to the officers most volatile situations can be avoided. Based on the guidance the officer will be able to distinguish between the normal and mentally ill people. He will use the techniques and methods which have been developed during the training period and as a result there will be a non violent ending of the faced encounter. Timeline: The timeline for the given proj ect is three years. Each year the program will be thoroughly evaluated for excellence. Policy Elements: 1. The police stations of few specific areas will be taken as subjects and special Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training will be provided to all the correctional officers who deal with such mentally ill people in jails. The training will be provided only to the officers who come in direct contact with the patients and not the other staff. 2. There are some police