Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disabilities affecting children. It is estimated that 8.4% of children and 2.5% of adults have ADHD. Individuals with ADHD suffer from hyperactivity, trouble paying attention, and impulse control issues. But do these factors lead to criminal behavior?
Link Between ADHD and Crime According to a 2010 study, more than 40% of long-term prison inmates were diagnosed with ADHD. Most of these prisoners were diagnosed with ADHD as adults. Another study found a link between childhood ADHD diagnosis and adult criminal activity. The Yale study found that children diagnosed with ADHD were twice as likely to commit theft as an adult and 50% more likely to sell drugs. Up to two-thirds of young offenders in the criminal justice system screened positively for childhood ADHD. Why is there a Connection? ADHD symptoms include aggression, lack of impulse control, inattentiveness and poor emotional control. Without proper treatment, people with ADHD may not have a clear understanding of how to manage these symptoms. Couple this with problems adjusting in childhood and going to a school that is not meeting the needs of a person with ADHD and it is easy to see how someone with the diagnosis may commit crimes. Education and Treatment Help While most people with ADHD do not commit crimes, it is still important for parents of children with the diagnosis make sure to properly educate themselves and their children about the symptoms and the available treatments. Parents should pay very close attention to children with the symptoms of ADHD and seek out a diagnosis sooner rather than later. Catching ADHD early can help families learn to deal with impulsiveness early and learn ways to manage symptoms. Children and adults can learn to help control their symptoms and sometimes use them to their advantage. Families can educate themselves about ADHD by seeking a good psychologist who specializes in the condition. Joining a support group for people with ADHD can also be helpful in helping to learn ways to manage the condition properly. It is essential to be patient with ADHD and understand that finding the proper treatment can take months or even years. If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.
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After every tragic school shooting the national conversation turns toward gun control and better mental health treatment. It's an encouraging sign that lawmakers and policymakers want to increase the focus on mental health treatment, but is there really any evidence that better mental health care is the solution to school shootings?
Can We Predict School Shooters Based on Mental Illness? With sensationalist headlines and social media outcry, it might appear that mental health issues are a significant cause of school shootings. While there is some correlation between mental illness and mass shootings, most school shooters don't have a mental health diagnosis at the time of their violent acts. Loneliness is not a psychiatric condition. Rage is not a diagnosable mental illness. These are common characteristics of mass shooters. Other common characteristics include fascinations with firearms, drug and alcohol use, and difficult childhoods. Many students who are not shooters have these same characteristics. These may not act as red flags pointing to a treatable condition. It is also difficult to predict who will become a mass shooter even if all of these factors are taken into account. So what indicators do you use to pick a student out of a crowd and force them into treatment? Associating mental illness with mass shootings increases the stigma against those with mental health issues. Looking at those with psychiatric conditions as potentially violent is misplaced. Mental illness is statistically a poor predictor of violent behavior. Individuals with psychiatric conditions are much more likely to be crime victims and not crime perpetrators. Will Increased Treatment Help? Focusing mental health treatment on an effort to predict school shooters misses the bigger picture. Many students suffer from difficulties and concerning behaviors, therefore better mental health treatment is clearly needed. This treatment should be used as a tool to protect at-risk students from harming themselves rather than as a way to identify and handle possible school shooters. Identifying students in crisis and offering them help may prevent future violent behavior but it should not be relied upon as a guarantee that school shooters will be stopped. If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058. 
This past summer, in California, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that would allow judges to order community mental health treatment instead of prosecution for crimes committed by mentally ill individuals. While prosecutors and other critics of the law fear it could open a dangerous door when it comes to serious crime, it’s clear that something must be done about the increasing number of mentally ill prisoners on California.
Crisis in California Over the past three years, the number of mentally ill inmates in California jumped by 33%. Overcrowding of state hospitals and other treatment facilities led to many individuals who were declared incompetent to stand trial being placed in jail rather than receiving treatment. These individuals sit in jail indefinitely, not convicted of a crime but not able to leave because they have been charged with a crime. If they later become competent to stand trial, they may be convicted of a misdemeanor or a lesser felony and then released on the streets without being treated adequately due to prison overpopulation. In a 2017 report, the Stanford Law School's Justice Advocacy Project found that 30% of California's prisoners were receiving treatment for a severe mental disorder such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or psychotic disorder. The rising mentally ill prison population was a severe problem in California that needed to be addressed. New Law The new law vastly increases the number of criminal suspects that can be diverted away from the criminal justice system and into mental health treatment. The law allows diversion for any suspect with a mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, even if they have committed serious or violent felonies. If a suspect can show that they have a mental disorder and that they do not pose an unreasonable risk to the public, they may be placed in the program. Criminal proceedings would be suspended, and the suspect would receive mental health treatment for up to two years. If a suspect successfully completes the diversion program and the judge believes that the offender is unlikely to commit another felony, the judge can dismiss the criminal charges. Prosecutors across the state want to limit the program to individuals charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. They believe the law should be scaled back. But disability rights advocates and public defenders believe the law is necessary to combat the poor mental health treatment available in California jails and prisons. The law leaves it up to the discretion of individual judges whether they believe an individual should be placed in the program. If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058. |
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