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institutions / correctional facilities

  • The prevalence of serious mental illness in individuals arrested, incarcerated in jails and prisons, or under supervision is between 7 and 18% depending upon methodology, definition of mental illness, and setting.1,2,3
  • 43% of women and 35% of men newly remanded into custody reported as being on some sort of prescribed medicine.4
  • In a study of UK prisons 46% of sentenced adult male prisoners had some type of long term illness or disability.4
  • There are approximately 2.3 million prisoners in the USA.5
  • There are approximately 28 thousand prisoners in Australia.6
  • A survey by the American Correctional Association in 2000 found that 105,403 prisoners were prescribed psychotropic medications, including antidepressants, stimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers.
  • By 2009 this figure is likely to have grown to 125,000 given the increase in prisoner numbers overall.
  • “The State's expert found that numerous systemic problems with medication administration and management exist at the facilities, including: failure to distribute medications at the proper time intervals, leading to over or under-prescribing medications; failure to provide necessary food at night to diabetic inmates; failure to properly monitor whether inmates are actually swallowing their medications; and pre-pouring medications.”7
  1. Broner, N., Lamon, S. S., Mayrl, D. W., & Karopkin, M. G. (2003). Arrested adults awaiting arraignment: Mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice characteristics and needs. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 30(2), 663–721.
  2. Ditton, P. M. (1999, July). Mental health and treatment of inmates and probationers, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 174463. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
  3. Lamb, H. R., & Weinberger, L. E. (1998). Persons with severe mental illness in jails and prisons: A review. Psychiatric Services, 49(4), 483–492.
  4. Handbook on Prisons by Yvonne Jewkes Willan Publishing, 2007 ISBN 1843921855, 9781843921851
  5. Bureau of Justice Statistics 2008.
  6. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008.
  7. (Report by the Civil Right Division of the Department of Justice 2006 Investigation of Delaware Correctional Center, Symrna, Delaware; Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, Wilmington, Delaware; Sussex Correctional Institution, Georgetown, Delaware; John L. Webb Correctional Facility, Wilmington, Delaware; and Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution, New Castle, Delaware) Minnesota Department of Corrections Division Directive: 500.206 Title: Controlled Medications Issue Date:7/3/07 Effective Date:8/7/07 AUTHORITY: Policy 500.200, “Management of Medications.”