NYPD Round Up Mentally Ill Before They Commit Crimes

[MessiahDecoy123]

So a couple of mentally ill people in NYC pushed people onto the subway track killing them. As a response the NYPD went out and rounded up mentally ill people who weren't taking medication and institutionalized them.

These people did not commit any crime.

It reminds me of something from the movies Minority Report or Equilibrium.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/18/nyc-police-begin-roundup-purge-streets-mentally-il/

 

[ThePhantasm]

Looks to me that they aren't rounding up all mentally ill people. Only those who have already standing warrants for disobeying a court order to take medication. Normally those warrants are probably way low on the police priority list but recent incidents just bumped them up.

 

[Victarion]

If they've disobeyed a court order for medication or counseling sessions, I see no problem. I stand corrected.

 

[ThePhantasm]

If they've disobeyed a court order for medication or counseling sessions, I see no problem. Otherwise, prison is the last place the mentally ill need to be. They need psychiatric care.

The article says they'd be taken to a hospital for treatment, not to a prison.

 

[Schlosser85]

Misleading thread title much?

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Does the refusal to take court ordered medication automatically result in "standing warrants" for your arrest?

 

[ThePhantasm]

Does the refusal to take court ordered medication automatically result in "standing warrants" for your arrest?

Nothing "automatically" results in a standing warrant. They have to be issued by a judge. That doesn't mean the warrants were issued because of the incident mentioned in the article.

 

[Victarion]

Okay, I read it. They're not arresting them per se; they're giving them their meds, essentially.

 

[Piper Maru]

Gotta catch em all!

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Misleading thread title much?

How is it misleading?

It's what they're doing.

These people didn't do anything to have their constitutional rights trampled, property invaded, and dragged to psychiatric wards.

Usually you have to break the law before any of that happens, even if the court says you have to take meds.

How do these police know these people haven't taken their meds in a while? There's really no way they can be sure without drug testing them first.

 

[ThePhantasm]

How do these police know these people haven't taken their meds in a while? There's really no way they can be sure without drug testing them first.

I guess they'd know if they haven't had the require prescriptions filled, or if they haven't made the required hospital visits.

 

[Victarion]

I imagine the subway incident prompted the judge(s) to follow up with the pharmacies the prescriptions were called in to.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Okay, I read it. They're not arresting them per se; they're giving them their meds, essentially.

You don't seem to understand the physics of forcing someone to take their meds.

The police approach you and if you don't want to go to psych ward for an undisclosed amount of time, they tackle you to the ground, handcuff you, and take you to a hospital ward where you can be physically restrained to a bed.

Then they inject you with drugs.

t's not simply knocking politely on someone's door and asking them to take a pill with a glass of milk.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I guess they'd know if they haven't had the require prescriptions filled, or if they haven't made the required hospital visits.

Very possible but evidently they had an extensive computer database to keep track of these people.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Very possible but evidently they had an extensive computer database to keep track of these people.

But how could any computer database keep track of whether they were taking medication or not? That doesn't make any sense. The only way to tell is through prescription info or lack of hospital visits. I mean, its not like the computer is watching them through their window...

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

If these people were on court ordered medication for murder then I can understand this response to some extent.

But a court can order medication for many reasons.

I don't think it's right to treat mentally ill people like they're murderers unless they have killed or almost killed in the past.

 

[Victarion]

You don't seem to understand the physics of forcing someone to take their meds.

The police approach you and if you don't want to go to psych ward for an undisclosed amount of time, they tackle you to the ground, handcuff you, and take you to a hospital ward where you can be physically restrained to a bed.

Then they inject you with drugs.

t's not simply knocking politely on someone's door and asking them to take a pill with a glass of milk.

There is a simple solution: take your meds on your own.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

There is a simple solution: take your meds on your own.

It's not so simple if the meds have terrible side effects or a drug practically lobotomizes you.

But I guess that doesn't matter as long as it's the other guy.

 

[Victarion]

It's not so simple if the meds have terrible side effects or a drug practically lobotomizes you.

But I guess that doesn't matter as long as it's the other guy.

If the side effects kick in, there's always the option of contacting the pharmacy or physician. The psych meds should be given alongside counseling sessions from the psychiatrist.

 

[Hotwire]

Let's say you're a mentally unstable individual who is prone to violent outbursts. One of these lands you in front of a judge. Instead of sending you to prison for assault, he orders you into a medical program where you must report to a facility to receive treatment, part of which, is medication that has been proven to prevent these violent outbursts. Instead of showing up at the doctor's office and taking your meds, you choose to ignore the sentence. This will lead to the doctor telling the courts and a warrant being issued. That, in turn, leads to you being picked up by the cops.

Or, perhaps the mentally ill person is a sexual predator who is sentenced to chemical castration. By taking a certain dosage, his sexual desires are suppressed and he doesn't molest little kids anymore. He decides to stop showing up for his meds. You can see where that could lead.

Bottom line, violating a court order is an arrestable offense.

Also, going off your meds to avoid certain side effects can actually lead to other, sometimes worse, side effects.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

It depends what the term violent outburst includes.

and sometimes the mentally ill will be charged with a crime that was instigated by someone else or unrelated to mental illness.

I think each case needs to be evaluated carefully before resorting to Orwellian methods of watching and forcing people to be on medication for the rest of their natural born lives.

 

[Hotwire]

It depends what the term violent outburst includes.

and sometimes the mentally ill will be charged with a crime that was instigated by someone else or unrelated to mental illness.

I think each case needs to be evaluated carefully before resorting to Orwellian methods of watching and forcing people to be on medication for the rest of their natural born lives.

I agree. However, you're assuming the stance that judges are issuing warrants on people who have been diagnosed as mentally ill for no reason other than their illness. You're not allowing for even the most remote possibility that the person has done something wrong. I've found you have to do SOMETHING to get on the court's radar.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I agree. However, you're assuming the stance that judges are issuing warrants on people who have been diagnosed as mentally ill for no reason other than their illness. You're not allowing for even the most remote possibility that the person has done something wrong. I've found you have to do SOMETHING to get on the court's radar.

Exactly. I see no reason to assume Orwellianism at this point.

 

[SuperFerret]

They put sick dogs down. Forcing people to be medicated seems pretty good in comparison.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I agree. However, you're assuming the stance that judges are issuing warrants on people who have been diagnosed as mentally ill for no reason other than their illness. You're not allowing for even the most remote possibility that the person has done something wrong. I've found you have to do SOMETHING to get on the court's radar.

Yeah, it really depends why people are being court ordered medication.

Maybe someone like Chris Brown should be forced to take zoloft for something he did years ago. Maybe a person a schizophrenic had good reason to fight someone at a baseball game and shouldn't be forced to take a drug for the rest of their lives.

It's really fall into subjective and less clear cut areas sometimes.

A recent study determined that half of all inmates suffer from mental illness.

Are we prepared as a society to ignore a million Americans constitutional rights and drag these people out of their homes and force them into an institution whenever the police see fit regardless if these people were actively causing any trouble.

It's a slippery slope when 20% of Americans are on a psychiatric drug.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/17/one-in-five-american-adults-takes-psychiatric-drugs/