Mental health has an effect on individual prisoners who are sentence for a long period of time or a life time

Mental health has an effect on individual prisoners who are sentence for a long period of time or a life time. Being confined within four walls, restricted from the outside world with lack of interactions from family and friends has a psychological effect on the mind of a prisoner because of long term isolation, moreover surviving with physical abuse and threats from other inmates. Some offender may already have previous mental disorder before being incarcerated. Singletom et al. (1998), identified that ‘women prisoners display higher rates of mental disorder than do their male counterparts.’ Women prisoners may be at higher risk of suicidal or mental health disorder due to sexual and physical abuse whilst in prison or before incarceration. According to prison reform trust (2018), seventy per cent of prisoners have died from self-inflicted death, twenty-six per cent of women and sixteen per cent of men have received mental health treatment and twenty-five per cent of women and fifteen per cent of men reported with symptoms of psychosis. Fifteen per cent of prisoners in Liverpool have missed mental health appointments due to short staffed, Theguardian (2017). This indicates lack of consideration for prisoners from NHS and prison facility because prisoners are not found important as they currently do not belong in society.
According to Ministry of Justice (2018), within the next five years prison population in England and Wales are set to increase. On August of 2017 the prison population was eighty-six thousand and three hundred and eighty-eight. It is then going to increase by one thousand and six hundred to eighty-eight thousand in March 2022. This can lead to uncontrollable riots as well as affect those who are already suffering with mental health. Also suicide rate within the prison system can get higher than already observed. According to House of Commons (2018), Prison population in England and Wales in May 2018 is eighty-three thousand and four hundred and thirty.
There are many levels crimes committed within society which has an effect on the members of the public. This is why incarceration is used to reduce the level of crime and to assure safety for the victim(s). A victim of violence will always have a fear of the offender returning back to the community and re-offend. Although victim protection and support is provided, it can still cause an environmental and psychological issue for the victim because of the experience undergone. For example, honour crimes and forced marriages, does not only have an impact on the individual but also family and community. The case of Banaz Mahmod a twenty year old female who was murdered by family members because she escaped from a violent marriage which was forcible arranged whilst having a relationship with another man whom her family did not approve of. If her offenders were imprisoned, when she pleaded for help to the authorities she could have had a chance for survival and re-gain confidence in society. Griffins (1971), highlighted that ‘the price many women pay for male chivalry that promises them a very constricted form of protection in return for the acceptance of a range of rape-condoning myths.’ The cost of imprisonment according to Independent (2017), Ministry of Justice has estimated the cost of imprisonment of eighty-six thousand prisoners in 2017 was two point seven billion