Identification of a Social Problem
Various social problems identify systematic issues related to the legal system and prison in Los Angeles. However, some are more acute than others, affecting hundreds of people. One example of the social problems that are now present in the legal system and prisons is the treatment of mentally ill people in the Los Angeles County prisons (O’Connor, 2023). It is reported that mentally ill prisoners do not get the psychiatric care they need and experience inhumane conditions within the Los Angeles County jail system.
Impacted Groups
While the issue applies to all inmates of the county, people with mental illness are impacted the most. Mentally ill prisoners are not prevented from harming themselves as they are deprived of appropriate care (O’Connor, 2023). Additionally, they often do not have any clothing and live in cells not cleaned with flooded toilets (O’Connor, 2023).
They are also chained to tables for several hours and kept in overcrowded reception centers for days despite the federal court order (‘LA County violates court order,’ 2023). The problem affects at least 57,000 people with mental illness incarcerated in the county in 2022 (O’Connor, 2023). Most of them are people of color, and 4,500 people have a severe mental illness that requires professional check-ups every 30 minutes (O’Connor, 2023). The problem has been aggravating for the last several decades.
Interventions
The measures were taken to address the issue but did not bring any visible results. In 2015, “the Department of Justice put the Los Angeles jail system under a mandatory federal monitoring program” (O’Connor, 2023). The federal court ordered the system to comply with the requirements for adequate mental health care and incarceration conditions in September 2022.
Still, no changes were made (‘LA County violates court order,’ 2023). If the issue is not resolved, the number of people with mental illness in prison will continue to rise. The situation may lead to increased cases of self-harm and suicides. Overall, it will hurt inmates and possibly result in even growing numbers of mentally ill prisoners who do not get a chance for an everyday life after jail.
References
LA County violates court order and perpetuates horrific jail conditions. (2023). ACLU. Web.
O’Connor, M. (2023). In LA jails, mentally ill people are chained to tables and rarely get psychiatric care. The Appeal. Web.