A psychiatry professor has warned that a large number of people in Irish prisons have mental illnesses and are there for 'very minor offences'. Professor Brendan Kelly said prison is not a 'good place' for someone with mental health difficulties and highlighted the high risk of reoffending for inmates with mental illness. He urged the Department of Justice to identify those with mental illness who do not need to be in prison and direct them to psychiatric care.
A “large number” of the people in Irish prisons have mental illnesses and are there for “very minor offences”, an expert in psychiatry has warned., Psychiatry Professor Brendan Kelly said that prison is not a “good place” for someone with mental health difficulties.“It is not a therapeutic environment but what Professor Gautam Gulati and myself are concerned about is that large numbers of people with mental illness are ending up in our prisons for very minor offences,” he said.
“There are clinical staff and psychologists who work very hard but prison is simply not a place to be if you are mentally ill.”Professor Kelly said a great many of inmates with mental health problems are not hardened criminals but people who have committed public order offences.“What I am saying is that sometimes the fact people end up in prison is a tribute not to their offence but the fact they are ill or unable to give an account of themselves.
“So, prison doesn’t help in terms of treatment, it doesn’t help in terms of reoffending and - despite the best efforts of some really dedicated prison staff - it can also lead to homelessness - which causes further social exclusion in the end.”Although he warned that resources for the criminal justice system are “very sparse”, Professor Kelly said there are things the Department of Justice could do to help people with mental illnesses.
MENTAL HEALTH PRISON OFFENCES REOFFENDING JUSTICE SYSTEM
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