Prisoners with Special Needs

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Prison life is difficult especially for prisoners with special needs. Groups of prisoners with special needs include drugs and substance abusers, the mentally ill, and the handicapped (Easton 2011).

Prisons have become default hospitals for prisoners with special needs. Therefore, federal and state prisons are forced to adjust their programs and develop special facilities in order to address the needs of prisoners with special needs.

For example, mentally ill prisoners require specially built facilities while handicapped prisoners need special social amenities that are easy to use (Easton 2011). Prisons spend a lot of money to develop facilities and programs for these prisoners. Special care is provided because failure to do so might lead to deterioration of their conditions, which would compromise order and safety in prisons.

Prisoners with special needs affect operations of jail and prison system at all levels significantly. First, prisons at state and federal levels experience serious financial constraints in their efforts to determine and take care of prisoners with special needs (Easton 2011). Secondly, these prisoners require special units and facilities. In most prisons, prisoners with special needs are discriminated and segregated by other prisoners.

Therefore, they are housed in different facilities that separate them from other prisoners. In addition, their facilities are specially built to address their problems. For example, at the Albany County jail, a facility for mentally ill prisoners was constructed at a cost of $11 million (Easton 2011).

Several programs are developed to help drug abusers cope with their problem. These programs include therapy and individual and group counseling programs. Such programs are expensive and consume a lot of money that can be used to fund development projects undertaken by prisons. Thirdly, taking care of such prisoners is very demanding in terms of the amount and quality of care they need.

“Mentally ill prisoners require constant supervision. This forces corrections officers to keep watch over them during the day and throughout the night” (Samaha 2005).

This is very demanding and tiresome and forces state and federal levels to employ many officers to take care of prisoners.

Health conditions of prisoners with special needs deteriorate if they are not cared for properly. If their conditions exacerbate, they become a bigger problem because they compromise safety and order in the prison (Samaha 2005). Medical treatment avoids deterioration of the mental conditions of mentally ill prisoners.

“If prisoners with psychiatric disorders are not cared for properly, they gradually develop certain functional disabilities that make them a burden to the prison management and the community” (Easton 2011).

Therefore, caring for prisoners with special needs is beneficial to prisons, prisoners themselves, and the community. On the other hand, deterioration of the conditions of these prisoners poses a danger to other prisoners and the community. Some prisoners even try to commit suicide when their mental and physical conditions deteriorate.

The Maryland Community Criminal Justice Treatment Program (MCCJTP) is a program that offers treatment services to mentally ill prisoners who are jailed and who are on parole or probation (Easton 2011). Characteristics of the program include training of professionals who offer treatment services to prisoners, counseling and crisis intervention services, and identification and treatment of mentally ill prisoners.

In addition, the program ensures that mentally ill prisoners are jailed in special units that address their problems and that help to reduce disruption in jails. The program ensures that all inmates are evaluated before imprisonment to ascertain their mental conditions. This is in an effort to ensure that there is no disruption in prisons.

The program also ensures that mentally ill prisoners are treated with respect despite their mental conditions. In many prisons, mentally ill prisoners are ill treated by corrections officers. The program ensures that instances of ill treatment do not occur. The program has improved the mental condition of prisoners in all prisons in Maryland since the inception of the program. Prisoners receive medical treatment and are treated with respect by corrections officers (Samaha 2005).

They are able to fit into the community when they are released after serving their sentences. In addition, the program helps these prisoners to secure housing facilities after their release from prison (Easton 2011). The program has helped to reduce discrimination and ill treatment of mentally ill prisoners. Although the program has certain limitations, it has made significant developments in efforts to improve the welfare of mentally ill prisoners.

Conclusion

Groups of prisoners with special needs require special care in order to address their needs satisfactorily. These groups include the mentally ill, the handicapped, and drugs and substance abusers. Federal and state prisons are forced to develop special programs and facilities in order to accommodate the needs of prisoners with special needs.

The main effect of prisoners with special needs on prisons in financial constraints. A lot of money is required to take care of prisoners with special needs. However, most state and federal levels cannot afford the money. This leads to provision of low quality care to prisoners especially the mentally ill. Programs such as MCCJTP have helped to improve the welfare of prisoners with special needs by ensuring that they are treated respectfully despite their conditions.

References

Easton, S. (2011). Prisoner’s Rights. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Samaha, J. (2005). Criminal Justice. New York: Cengage Learning.

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Prisoners with Special Needs

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