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The report notes that the aging of the general population is not the only contributing factor to this dynamic. \u201cIt is also attributable to a nationwide stiffening of criminal sentencing during the late 1980s and 1990s \u2013 particularly lengthy mandatory terms. In other words, we have more elderly prisoners because terms of imprisonment are much harsher than they were before the 1980s,\u201d it reads.<\/p>\n
Add to that widespread agreement that most correctional systems are unprepared or unable to provide a safe and caring place for people with neurocognitive troubles, and it\u2019s not hard to see the system is headed to a crisis point.<\/p>\n
This new report is sending a clarion call to jails and prisons across the nation about the need to develop and implement an efficient method for dementia screening.<\/p>\n
Richard Bonnie, the director of the UVA School of Law\u2019s Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, laid out several priorities in a recent presentation on the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need systemwide training for case identification and response for all criminal justice personnel \u2013 including law enforcement, attorneys and judges, and particularly for correctional agencies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bonnie highlighted a particularly troubling cycle in the pretrial process, when a defendant\u2019s competence to stand trial is assessed.<\/p>\n
When it comes to dealing with defendants with dementia, \u201cIf the defendant is found incompetent, the court commits the defendant to the hospital for restoration of competence, which is not likely to occur given the nature of the disorder,\u201d he said. \u201cThis pointless practice should be ended in favor of a more appropriate placement depending on whether the defendant poses a risk to himself or to society.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n