zlacker

>>gruseo+(OP)
In the United States, the problem started with the war on drugs. The increasing privatization of the prison system made crime a business opportunity, which in turn lead to more things being criminalized.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/US_...

But that's not all; prison labor is now used as cheap labor to compete with foreign countries, instituting a new age of under-the-radar slavery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwT6CisM0mU

The more you look at this cyclic process, the more disturbing it becomes.

>>macemo+65
Another major part of the problem is that we no longer institutionalize most of the mentally ill (also a phenomenon starting around 1960-70). Many of them become homeless, and a few commit crimes.

>>yummyf+66
Wait - a "major problem" is that a "few commit crimes"?

I think the real issue is that the US has some socio-economic issues that we've as yet let unresolved: drugs (as mentioned), policing strategy, judicial/legislative strategy, welfare, education, etc. I don't think institutionalization is a major contributor.

>>nickpi+E6
Just because a small portion of the mentally ill commit crimes does not mean that a small portion of crimes are committed by the mentally ill.

A quick google search finds a source claiming that about 10-20% of the prison population (a few hundred thousand) are seriously mentally ill:

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/forensic-psych/content/artic...

>>yummyf+O7
Beyond that, the conditions in some prisoner (esp. California's) can lead to mental illness. Talk to someone who has been in AdSeg, as an example.