Question

1.If someone with a personality disorder commits a crime, what is the right way for society to respond? For example, does or should meeting diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder mitigate (lower) a person’s responsibility for committing a crime?

Answer 1

While there is no black and white answer to this question, the right thing to do in such an instance is to see each offender individually. Personality disorder refers to the patterns of behavior that are the result of one’s unique/independent personality that may differ from those deemed normal or expected by the society which leads to distress or suffering to the person himself and those around him.

It is a fact that physiology and environment (nature and nurture) both always interact. If we look closely at the histories of clinical sexual offenders, antisocial personalities, people who have conduct disorders etc, it can be seen that most of them have had traumatic childhood. Hence, children who grow up in such a hostile and abusive environment are likely to harm others or suffer from personality disorders in adulthood. For example a person suffering from antisocial personality disorder is unlikely to have empathy and regard for others. He/she, as a result of chemical imbalance (physiology) or bad childhood/experiences (environment) commit certain crimes in the society. Now by no means we are saying that they are right or they shouldn’t be punished, but more than the punishment, they need treatment. They have this hidden longing and desire to be treated fairly or with respect depending on the case and catastrophes one has faced in their lives. As a society, we need to be more empathic and try to understand them than deeming them or tagging them as “offenders”. They, in my opinion are victims themselves and what they do to others are manifestations of their own pain and frustration.

I truly believe society has a role to play in prevention of crime. Although there are medications available that are effective in controlling some of the symptoms of personality disorders, non compliance with medicine routines or abusing medicines prevents the widespread use of certain medications. The best society can do for them is a long term structured residential programs in which patients systematically earns respect and privileges as they modify their behavior. The idea is that if these patients are kept in such an environment where they have no scope to victimize (http://www.minddisorders.com/knowledge/Victimisation.html) or hurt other over long periods of time, their behavior may improve. However, it cannot be said that if they would maintain the same behavior if they leave the controlled environment. Another psychological therapy called Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) can be used for patients who have committed crimes and this therapy can also be used in prison settings. In this therapy, patients respond to everyday situations in a problem solving manner instead of being emotionally charged or acting aggressively or using emotions more than logic. The idea is that this positive mindset should enable them to participate in rehabilitation programs such as reoffending reduction courses. In fact, inmates at Whitemoor and Rampton are provided with this therapy with fairly good results.

Bringing it all together

Overall, it is our responsibility as a society that whenever we see any child or a teenager acting in a way that seems abnormal, we all should seek help not for him/her alone but for society in general. No person wakes up one day and decides to create chaos and danger in the society or get involved in a criminal way. Every act has a root cause, but most of us don’t seek to discover or explore the person’s hidden pain. Society in general just likes to offer their own opinions and suggestions about what kind of punishment should the offender receive. We as a society should stop saying that it’s not my problem or it doesn’t matter to me. For when troubled children grow up and their issues spiral out of control so badly that it affects fellow members of the society, then the society wants to take it seriously. Crime never occurs in a vacuum and it affects all of us.

Primarily, mental illness should be diagnosed timely so that patients can get optimal treatment. The secondary aim is to safeguard the society against harmful or dangerous individuals who are not getting treatment.

To conclude, we as a society should be more proactive. We shouldn’t wait for our children, our family members to get harmed in the streets; the time to take action is now. We all are in this together. As a society; and as human beings.