Fast Facts
1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14
People with mental illness deserve help, not handcuffs. Yet people with mental illness are overrepresented in our nation's jails and prisons. We need to reduce criminal justice system involvement and increase investments in mental health care.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
About 2 million times each year, people with serious mental illness are booked into jails.
About 2 in 5 people who are incarcerated have a history of mental illness (37% in state and federal prisons and 44% held in local jails).
66% of women in prison reported having a history of mental illness, almost twice the percentage of men in prison.
Nearly one in four people shot and killed by police officers between 2015 and 2020 had a mental health condition.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for people held in local jails.
An estimated 4,000 people with serious mental illness are held in solitary confinement inside U.S. prisons.
COMMUNITIES
70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition.
Youth in detention are 10 times more likely to suffer from psychosis than youth in the community.
About 50,000 veterans are held in local jails — 55% report experiencing a mental illness.
Among incarcerated people with a mental health condition, non-white individuals are more likely to go to solitary confinement, be injured, and stay longer in jail.
ACCESS TO CARE
About 3 in 5 people (63%) with a history of mental illness do not receive mental health treatment while incarcerated in state and federal prisons.
Less than half of people (45%) with a history of mental illness receive mental health treatment while held in local jails.
People who have healthcare coverage upon release from incarceration are more likely to engage in services that reduce recidivism.
