Poll: 75% of Americans believe incarcerated persons should get mental health support

According to a recent poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, 75% of Americans said mental health support should be provided to incarcerated persons.

Survey data from the latest Healthy Minds Monthly poll commissioned by the APA, included 2,111 adults, who responded between Sep. 30 and Oct. 2. Results additionally revealed that just 20% of Americans believe those in jails and prisons are receiving the mental health care they need.

When asked to estimate the percentage of people with mental illness who are incarcerated per year, respondents answered slightly higher (49.8%), with actual estimates roughly 44%. The APA believes that community-based services and supports for individuals with serious mental illness should be sufficiently funded to provide alternatives to the criminal justice system.

“It’s important that Americans are recognizing the longstanding reality that our jails and prisons have become the largest mental health provider in the country, and that people in the criminal justice system need treatment and support,” APA President Rebecca W. Brendel, MD, JD, said in a press release. “Public awareness and attention can help motivate resources and change.”

Almost half (48%) of the survey respondents do not believe police and law enforcement officers in their community are properly trained to deal with those in mental health crisis; 60% of Black adults and 56% of Hispanic adults, as well as 54% of those aged 18 to 25 years concurred.

Additionally, 53% of all polled thought that the new 988 mental health crisis number will be effective to keep people in crisis out of jail. For those who answered the survey from Gen Z — people born between 1997 and 2012 — 61% expressed that 988 would be a helpful tool for keeping those in crisis clear of the criminal justice system.

When queried on what additional services should be available to the incarcerated population, after mental health support, those most often selected among adults were job training (67%), soft skills training (64%), educational opportunities (60%), reintegration and reentry assistance (56%), telehealth (40%), wellness programs (39%) and financial management classes (35%).

“The number of people in jail and prisons with mental health and substance use disorders is a major societal problem and Americans are saying we should fix it,” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin MD, MPA, said in the release. “Lawmakers should heed this information and take action.”