Prison plans could trigger 'mental health timebomb'

National's plans to increase the prison muster will compound existing mental health issues in prisons ...

Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem yesterday sounded a warning about large numbers of inmates with untreated mental illnesses, which she said posed dangers staff, other prisoners and the afflicted inmates themselves.

Ms Wakem's background is in broadcasting, public relations and consulting, much of the latter to the state sector. Aha ...

An increase in prisoners being held in crammed conditions would exacerbate mental illness, making treatment more difficult, ultimately putting the whole community at risk, Ms Turei said.
"Mental illness and lack of medical care contributes to crime," she said.

A career spanning resource management law, anarcho-feminist performance, political internship with the ALCP and the McGillicuddies and unemployed rights activism ... and the youngest of the Green MPs ... Aha ...

Unfortunately the only way to effectively impact on criminal behaviour is to ensure consequences have a high probability of succeeding the behaviour and that those conseqences effectively stop the behaviour ... this is somewhat difficult to achieve given the rantings of such apparently sensible, humanitarian propagandists, with such minimal experience in that of which they believe they can talk so authortatively.