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How has Covid-19 Affected Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System?
Since Covid-19 recognition has a global pandemic, the virus has impacted nearly every corner of the United States society. However, some environments and populations have experienced the effects more severely than others. Vulnerable populations, particularly those subjected to financial insecurity and racism, and any other form of discrimination, tend to be easy targets for economic consequences and other adverse effects caused by Coronavirus. Populations experiencing overwhelming effects are likely to be exposed to psychological effects. Also, systems that are important to our democracy, such as criminal justice, are identified as one of the places the virus can spread faster if it gains a foothold. In such environments, it is hard to prevent the introduction of the virus or regulate its spread.
The criminal justice system is highly vulnerable to the spread of the virus due to carceral facilities’ structures. The system is not uniquely vulnerable; other industries and institutions such as nursing homes, dormitories, manufacturing, and meat processing organizations are equally impacted (Crystal et al., 7). However, many factors merge to make the criminal justice system a hotspot for transmission and more threatening than other environments. Transmission is higher in enclosed environments, mainly indoor places with minimal distancing places.
To reduce the transmission rate, some carceral facilities stopped visitations without providing intimates with alternative ways of staying in contact with loved ones. This is an action capable of causing emotional and mental breakdowns among inmates and their relatives. Lawyer to in-person interaction has also been reduced in federal and State facilities (Crystal et al. 17). Email communications are closely monitored, interfering with client-lawyer privileges. Some of the transmission regulation policies implemented in the criminal justice system may cause more harm than benefit. Incarcerated people are already in despair because of the isolation from the outside world. Putting measures that separate the population is likely to increase feelings of loneliness and hopelessness and amplify existing mental complications.
Loss of income, fear, isolation, and bereavement are triggering mental conditions or intensifying existing ones. Employers are laying off employees during the pandemic, and some industries are closing together following government policies. Individuals experiencing financial shortages are unable to keep calm during lockdowns and quarantines (Davis). People are also experiencing anxiety due to fear of losing a loved one, not making it through, worrying about contracting the virus or being locked down alone. With fewer activities, some people are now increasing their alcohol and drug use intake causing mental breakdowns and instability. Too much time with fewer activities has also caused unhealthy sleeping patterns leading to insomnia. Generally, any disruption of the usual routines has left the public with psychological effects. Other reports have particularly identified the male population as highly vulnerable to mental illness during these pandemic periods (James et al. 52). Most men are the sole providers of their families, and losing employment has enacted more pressure on them due to struggling to financially sustain their families.
As countries adapt to new ways of carrying out activities, some industries face challenges or rather disruptions, including mental health facilities. Mental health services faced interferences as mental facilities tried to adjust to new ways of delivering services. During the lockdown times, people had to put on hold counseling and psychotherapy sessions; others could not get prescriptions, and even worse, others experienced abrupt termination to the emergence of mental services (Davis). Being mentally unstable is already worse enough to be followed by a lack of help. Imagining individuals with severe substance use syndrome, and they have to terminate their sessions and go home to be alone, uncertain of when to resume therapy. Coronavirus interfered with the delivery of mental services, which caused and continues to cause intense mental experiences both for families living with the patient and the patients.
Cases of PTSD, insomnia, depression, and anxiety also raised alarms among Covid-19 survivors. The issue of Covid-19 survivors undergoing mental complications is a neglected part of researches. However, studies that have conducted research have indicated a concerning percentage of those admitted for contracting the virus registered one or another psychiatric disorder time after recovery (Davis). Due to uncertainty about the specific cause of mental instability among this population, the causes could revolve around numerous reasons. For one, it could be that the virus infects the brain or have related mental infections. Also, it could be post-traumatic disorder arising from fear of a second infection. People could also experience difficulties due to being responsible for infecting other people and watching them fight for their lives.
Carceral facilities are diverse environments that merge several staff, such as correctional custody, healthcare, incarcerated people, and other staff. All the staff meets here from different communities. Staff can get infected off-work and report to work the next day infection, uncountable people, including other staff and inmates (Crystal et al., 21). Also, the vice versa can happen; staff can catch an infection while on duty, and during off-work hours, interacting in the community causes massive transmission. Also, one correctional staff can infect nearly every corner of the facility since some have roles in overseeing specific roles all over the facility. It is hard to shut down some industries in carceral facilities since each one is as essential as the other, particularly during pandemic times. Therefore, the circle of interactions remains hard to control, and viral infections more possible.
The carceral system generally has inadequate laboratory capacity, testing supply, medical providers, and quality regulation to effectively detect and respond to a respiratory virus such as Coronavirus. Therefore, this status can explain delayed detection, ineffective contact tracing, and insufficient administering of treatments. Several studies have documented carceral facilities lacking timely testing and response (Crystal et al., 17). Also, during a severe coronavirus outbreak, correctional facilities lack enough staff to handle both virus attention and other chronic conditions. The lack of timely medical attention has caused riots in several correctional facilities since the viral transmission kicked. Hence, Coronavirus has raised alarms on how much the criminal justice system needs reforms, which considers the need for enough medical staff in correctional facilities. The issue is now hard to ignore with evident severe impacts.
Correctional facilities are not the only criminal justice system to be affected by Covid-19. Courts operations have piled up due to shutdowns and closers caused by Covid-19. Even with reopening ways of implementing measures of virus prevention are becoming a struggle. Some courts found alternative virtual handling of cases, but some court requirements still demand in-person attendance. Some of the measures that have been successfully implemented in courts include suspending jury hearing, regulating courthouse entry, and permitting extension for court deadlines. Coronavirus created a crisis in courts like most victims were left without clear information about trials, and when courts will hear their cases. As some remained in detention facilities and uncertain situations, the rates of mental issues could be linked to this matter (Minish ). The suspense of waiting for hearing and anticipating fate can result in anxiety or suicidal thoughts.
Law enforcement, as a criminal justice system agent, has also faced specific impacts related to Covid-19. On one side, the problem in law enforcement was raised from how they handled the public, and on the other side, the workforce was directly affected. Law enforcement during this pandemic has faced intense criticism arising from severe allegations of racial discrimination. Researchers have reported that in New York, Latin, and black people constituted 39 out of 40 people arrested for violating Coronavirus preventive measures (Crystal et al., 21). During the protesting of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and other African Americans, police were reported to arrest particular black crowds. Also, law enforcement officers in several countries have registered a high number of infections. To enforce the measure, law enforcement personnel interact with a large population, exposing them to risks of contracting the virus. These populations have the responsibility to maintain order by ensuring that Federal and State policies are followed. In their line of duty and with few safety equipment, it is challenging to keep the officers safe.
Correctional facilities lack suitable spaces for quarantining or isolating inmates who have interacted with an infected person. In some places, segregation cells are the only spaces used for isolation, and they are meant to be confinement cells. The solitary confinement spaces lack the appropriate medical requirements to be isolation centers. Also, as spaces are meant to keep locked away from socially interacting with other inmates, they can foster traumatic feelings. Therefore, inmates may be reluctant to report Covid-19 symptoms with the fear of being confined (Crystal et al., 26). Coronavirus has caused viral infections, which show how less equipped the justice system is and changes needed.
Incarcerated people mostly experience poor health and many other health complications, which `expose them at the risk of contracting Covid-19. The presence of chronic conditions in carceral facilities is higher than in the general population. The prevalence of chronic conditions in carceral facilities has been facilitated by ethnicity and racial disparities. People of color are vulnerable to chronic complications and more likely to be imprisoned than the white population (Crystal et al., 27). Poor health status puts the incarcerated individual at a high risk of contracting the virus. Also, aged-population in carceral facilities are more vulnerable to getting infected. Although most of the incarcerated population is younger, the system’s fastest-growing population represents older people. Therefore, Coronavirus has mostly stroke.
people of color making up the most population of carceral facilities and reduced the population of the energetic population who can build the nation.
The virus has severely impacted the criminal justice system due to correctional facilities’ overcrowding conditions. The virus being a respiratory disease, is transmitted through close contact and exposure to contaminated surfaces. One of the effective ways of preventing transmission is through implementing distancing and keeping surfaces clean. However, the population and space available in carceral facilities do not give room for these measures to be effectively implemented (Crystal et al., 14). One way to make distancing possible is by reducing the population in prisons and jails. The only way to reduce the population is by releasing some of the inmates, which will harm the community more than regulating the spread.
In conclusion, Covid-19 has impacted each aspect globally. However, some particularly populations and industries have been severely impacted due to their sensitivity. Mental health sometimes places an individual in a “life or death” scenario, and with the spread of the virus, some of the mental services were hard to achieve; others were terminated abruptly. People are getting overwhelmed due to the uncertainty that the virus is posing; others are under emotional and mental breakdown due to the challenging situations they are already facing. People lost jobs, and others are traumatized by watching loved ones suffer, and the general population going through turmoil. Nearly all the criminal justice system branches are experiencing massive negative impacts due to the existing poor condition of the management and workforce. Law enforcement has to keep their countries safe but lacks the necessary equipment to protect them from infection as they interact with large populations. Courts are faced with the uncertainty of operations. Other activities that have found an alternative to continuing running during the pandemic are either ineffectively executed or do not align with the victim’s best interest. People lack clear information about court proceeding as people shift from physical attendance to virtual. Then carceral facilities face has been the impacted branch of the criminal system. Incarceration areas lack adequate equipment, staff, space, and many other necessary tools to keep the large population safe from the viral and dangerous transmission. Coronavirus has evidently indicated the reforms needed to make criminal justice a better system.
Works cited
Davis, N. (2020). This article is more than 2 months old ‘Sheer fear’: mental health impacts of Covid-19 come to fore. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/14/sheer-fear-mental-health-impacts-of-covid-19-come-to-fore
Minish, Chloe. “Future Of Criminal Justice System Hangs In Balance Due To Covid-19”. Victim Support Scotland, 2020, https://victimsupport.scot/the-future-of-the-criminal-justice-system-hangs-in-the-balance-as-the-threat-of-coronavirus-starts-to-ease/. Accessed 24 Oct 2020.
Smith, James, et al. “COVID-19, Equity and Men’s Health.” International Journal of Men’s Social and Community Health 3.1 (2020): e48-e64.
Watson, Crystal et al. “COVID-19 And The US Criminal Justice System: Measures To Reduce Risk”. Johns Hopkins Center For Health Security, 2020, 1-33. https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/covid-19-and-the-us-criminal-justice-system.