This is a frightening situation in my area

[Bottesini]

This?

Arctic Power - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - Home

Ah.. Like sending them to Siberia.

 

[jillio]

It is surrounded by elderly housing. The hospital is down the street. It's mostly a residential area with some professional buildings (doctors, dentists, lawyers) near.

Still close to a hospital. That is wise for a unit like this.

How many instances of a patient at this facility have there been of an elderly person living in the vacinity being injured or accosted by one of these patients?

 

[jillio]

Mentally ill violent patients who have been convicted of felonies and are on the sexual predator lists.

They are still ill. And, to be honest, you don't know if the violence is controlled when the mental illness is controlled. In the vast majority of cases, it is.

Better to have them in a treatment facility to reduce the chances of recidivism than to put them in prison and let them fester for several years and then turn them back on the street sicker than they were when they were first incarcerated.

If these patients are a security risk or a risk to the neighboring communities, they will be on a locked ward and not permitted grounds privileges.

 

[jillio]

Not next door to a nursing home and retirement housing. I mean right next door. There is no green space separating them.

They only recently added the lattice on top of the six-foot privacy fence. There is no security fencing except for the drive-thru gate, which is electronic.

Which facility was there first? The mental health facility or the nursing home?

 

[jillio]

If the youth is that troubled, he should have been in a prison for criminals with mental illness, in an attached juvenile ward.

Forensic mental health units do not take juveniles. He was where he was deemed fit to be. In a unit that takes out of state mentally ill offenders. In a facility that specializes in treating mentally ill offenders.

 

[jillio]

This kid has been away from the institute for 4 days, and there is not a single, solitary report of his having committed any crime, violent or otherwise, during that period. This panic and burning at the stake is really unnecessary.

 

[jillio]

Agreed. He should have also been incarcerated in his own area instead being sent to our state. Apparently it's a big business now, to take patients and prisoners from other states for a fee.

The article plainly states that this facility is the only one that takes mentally ill juveniles for the Washington, D.C. area. The system is doing its best to make sure that this juvenile offender receive the treatment necessary to insure that he will not re-offend. And isn't that the goal of any incarceration?

 

[jillio]

Yes, he should have been. I don't know if you read the original article that Reba linked to. There are a lot of comments saying exactly that, with the people of SC being pretty irate that Washington, D.C. (where this guy is from) is shipping these offenders to other places, which make a profit on having a high "bed count."

D.C. closed down a treatment/detention center for offenders in this category a while ago - I think maybe a year or two ago. So these guys are getting shipped all over the place, mostly to states in the south, which for some is probably a good idea because it gets them away from the environment that led to their problems in the first place.

However, it looks like this particular low-security facility was not the best place to send someone who is already charged with attempted murder, is older than the population for whom the facility was designed, and has more serious problems all-around than what they are set up to handle.

(Reba slipped, with the same point.)

Firstly, you don't know that this is a low security facility. All inpatient mental health facilities have locked wards, and when the illness is sufficient to require it, that is exactly where patients are kept. 19 is still considered to be an adolescent, and this is an adolescent unit. At 19, he is far better off, and will receive more specialized services than if he were in an adult facility.

How do you possibly know that his problems are more severe than what they are set up to handle? What do you know about this facility other than the little that you have read in the article. And you know virtually nothing about the patient...his diagnosis and treatment plan are confidential information that has not been released

 

[Reba]

Still close to a hospital. That is wise for a unit like this.

How many instances of a patient at this facility have there been of an elderly person living in the vacinity being injured or accosted by one of these patients?

None yet, that I know of. Then again, not everything makes the papers. This incident was kept under wraps.

 

[jillio]

None yet, that I know of. Then again, not everything makes the papers. This incident was kept under wraps.

I'd say if this guy had attacked or injured someone, stolen a car, anything...the news would have been all over it. Especially if it involved an elderly resident from the area.
Likewise with any past incidents involving other patients. That is the very type of article the news goes after. It gets reactions.
Confidentiality does not extend that far.

 

[Reba]

They are still ill. And, to be honest, you don't know if the violence is controlled when the mental illness is controlled. In the vast majority of cases, it is.

Most of them are sex offenders, and they've been convicted of violent felonies.

I've know for a while about the sex offender youth there. I didn't realize that older, convicted criminals were also there.

Better to have them in a treatment facility to reduce the chances of recidivism than to put them in prison and let them fester for several years and then turn them back on the street sicker than they were when they were first incarcerated.

Why is that facility smack in the middle of a residential area?

If these patients are a security risk or a risk to the neighboring communities, they will be on a locked ward and not permitted grounds privileges.

You don't know that for a fact about that particular place, and they're not talking.

 

[jillio]

Most of them are sex offenders, and they've been convicted of violent felonies.

They are also mentally ill offenders. Sex offenders are actually the most ameniable to in depth treatment. Especially as juveniles. Juvenile offenders have also been victimized at some point. Most adult offenders as well. The way to stop the cycle is through treatment. That is not to say that punsihment is not in order as well. But that time is best used recovering from the disorders so they don't reoffend.

I've know for a while about the sex offender youth there. I didn't realize that older, convicted criminals were also there.

This particular program serves children through geriatric patients. I think that the one that you are referring to is the adolescent unit for the program, and children, adults, and geriatric patients are served at separate facilities. But 19 is still an adolescent developmentally. It is not irresponsible to have him in an adolescent unit.


Why is that facility smack in the middle of a residential area?

It sounds as if the area is mixed business and residential. In fact, it sounds like a very health care oriented area. Assisted living facilities are also health care, and are zoned as such. And I don't know which was there first...the assisted living could have chosen to locate next to this facilty.

You don't know that for a fact about that particular place, and they're not talking.

There is a lot that has been said regarding this case that is not known as fact. That is why I am trying to stem the tidal wave of emotional reaction. People don't need to go off all half cocked thinking that they may die in their sleep at the hands of an escaped lunatic. There is too much stigma attached to mental illness as it is. This only creates more.

But I do have the advantage of knowing policy and procedure, not to mention protocol of mentally ill, hospitalized patients. Given that this appears to be a successful facility in their program, and that they have received enough confidence to be used for out of state placements, I have no doubt that they follow the same protocol that other mental health facilities do.

 

[Reba]

Which facility was there first? The mental health facility or the nursing home?

I don't remember. That entire street, except for the hospital, was developed pretty much all at the same time. All the buildings on that side of the street were built within months of each other. The hospital was originally a clinic at that time, then was added on to and became a hospital a few years later. It's changed hands a few times.

Development happens very quickly here. New subdivisions and schools pop up almost overnight.

 

[Reba]

This particular program serves children through geriatric patients. I think that the one that you are referring to is the adolescent unit for the program, and children, adults, and geriatric patients are served at separate facilities. But 19 is still an adolescent developmentally. It is not irresponsible to have him in an adolescent unit.

According to their website, their facility is for youth aged 12-17 years. The escapee was a legal adult, convicted of attempted murder.

 

[jillio]

I don't remember. That entire street, except for the hospital, was developed pretty much all at the same time. All the buildings on that side of the street were built within months of each other. The hospital was originally a clinic at that time, then was added on to and became a hospital a few years later. It's changed hands a few times.

Development happens very quickly here. New subdivisions and schools pop up almost overnight.

As in most areas. Growth seems to explode in some areas, and it is difficult to know which facility was there first.

Like I said, I understand your concern. But, truly, we all need to be more concerned about the offenders that are out there that have never been caught and never had treatment.They are certainly much more of a risk that this 19 year old.

 

[jillio]

According to their website, their facility is for youth aged 12-17 years. The escapee was a legal adult, convicted of attempted murder.

It may very well be that he was convicted at a younger age, was probated into that facility, and it was determined that he had not made enough progress to be released or transferred so probate was continued at the same facility so the continuity of treatment was not lost. A facility for juvenile sex offenders can legally keep their charges until the age of 21.

 

[sequoias]

I don't remember. That entire street, except for the hospital, was developed pretty much all at the same time. All the buildings on that side of the street were built within months of each other. The hospital was originally a clinic at that time, then was added on to and became a hospital a few years later. It's changed hands a few times.

Development happens very quickly here. New subdivisions and schools pop up almost overnight.

Uh oh, urban sprawl coming!! Run for your lives!

 

[Reba]

As in most areas. Growth seems to explode in some areas, and it is difficult to know which facility was there first.

Like I said, I understand your concern. But, truly, we all need to be more concerned about the offenders that are out there that have never been caught and never had treatment.They are certainly much more of a risk that this 19 year old.

Just because I'm concerned about escapees that don't get reported doesn't mean I'm not concerned about offenders who haven't yet been caught. I'm concerned about both.

This 19-year-old is on the run, in a state where he's not familiar, and probably feeling desperate. He already has one conviction for violence. No one has any clue about where he went. Why shouldn't we be concerned?

 

[Reba]

It may very well be that he was convicted at a younger age, was probated into that facility, and it was determined that he had not made enough progress to be released or transferred so probate was continued at the same facility so the continuity of treatment was not lost. A facility for juvenile sex offenders can legally keep their charges until the age of 21.

That's an awful lot of speculation.

 

[Beowulf]

Just because I'm concerned about escapees that don't get reported doesn't mean I'm not concerned about offenders who haven't yet been caught. I'm concerned about both.

This 19-year-old is on the run, in a state where he's not familiar, and probably feeling desperate. He already has one conviction for violence. No one has any clue about where he went. Why shouldn't we be concerned?

Make sure there is no grease on your finger.