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People with MR/DD in the Criminal Justice System
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How many people with MR/DD are in the criminal justice system?
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Based on the 1990 census, an estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million people in the United States have mental retardation. Various studies have suggested between 2 percent to 10 percent of the prison population has mental retardation. Denkowski & Denkowski (1985) found that about 2 percent of all inmates in either state or federal prisons have mental retardation (about 14,000 people).
Another study conducted by the state of New York found similar results: between 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent of people with mental retardation were imprisoned (Sundram, 1990). Residential programs that house offenders with mental retardation support another 12,500 people who have been convicted, or suspected of, committing a crime (Noble & Conley, 1992).
The total number of people with mental retardation in prisons and residential programs (26,500 to 32,500) underestimates the extent of the problem since the number of those who are on probation, in local jails or placed in programs for people with mental illness remains unknown. While those in the criminal justice system constitute a small portion of all people with this disability, the number is significant enough to warrant the attention and concern of self-advocates, parents, criminal justice personnel and policy-makers.
Standardized procedures which gather data nationwide are necessary before a more accurate number of people with mental retardation involved in the criminal justice system can be determined (Noble & Conley, 1992).
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