criminal justice approaches to mental health
The Intersection of Mental Illness and Crime: Three Case Studies
Case Study 1
You are the responding officer to a busy commuter train platform. A crowd has formed near the end of the platform, and paramedics arrive on the scene just as you do. You get the crowd to move back and find that a person has randomly shoved another person onto the commuter train tracks.
Luckily, with the help of a quick-thinking bystander and the victim’s presence of mind, the victim avoided the electrified third rail, made it to the platform edge, and was able to be pulled back on the platform just before a train pulled into the station. The victim suffered serious injuries from the fall, including a broken leg, but is expected to make a full recovery.
The victim, who was simply on the way to work, had no previous relationship with the offender. Other bystanders managed to corner the offender, who did not fight back. When you arrived on the scene, you found the offender sitting on a bench surrounded by bystanders and the station manager. The offender rocked back and forth slightly, repeating the phrase, “The voice said to send the man home. The voice said to push the man home.”
You learn that the offender has had previous arrests, suffers from bipolar disorder, and refuses to take medication when prescribed.
Case Study 2
You are the responding officer to a domestic violence incident involving a mother and her adult son who is 25 years old. When you arrive, the mother is sitting on the front steps nursing a cut on her mouth. You confirm that she does not need immediate medical attention. A voice in the house yells, “I told you not to call the cops!”
The mother tells you that the adult son suffers from manic depression, and he refuses to leave the home. On this particular night, the mother encouraged her adult son to get a job to help support the family. During the argument, the adult son slapped his mother in the face, causing bleeding and minor swelling. The mother further states that the adult son refuses to go to counseling, and the mother does not want the adult son to live with her anymore.
When you interview the adult son, he does not contradict any of his mother’s statements. “I can’t believe she keeps bugging me about getting a job. I can’t get a job. I can’t keep a job. I can’t even take care of myself. And those counselors are all the same. They don’t know anything.”
Case Study 3
You are the responding officer to a call from the principal at the local high school. He asks you to interview a 16-year-old student that was overheard by another student making the following threat: “I’m going to kill everyone at school because they think I’m a loser!”
When interviewing the student who reported the overheard statement, that student shows you a social media page where the threatening student posts opinions about the effectiveness of guns in varied situations.
Before your planned interview with the 16-year-old student, two more students come forward with concerns and information. One states that the 16-year-old told him this morning “that he is going to get a large gun and come to school because the principal doesn’t like him anymore.”
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