In Britain, some campaigners are claiming that plans of imposing a strict 10:30 PM lights out policy in correctional facilities across the country could worsen the ongoing mental-health crisis, as many young detainees will be thrust into darkness. Representative Frances Crook from the Howard League Reform said that there is already an alarming rate of suicide cases in prison facilities and calls on the government to reevaluate this plan sends, they say, that it will leave prisoners isolated for far too many hours.
Earlier this year, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has issued orders to implement an earlier bedtime policy for young offenders, specifically those between the ages of 15 and 17. In line with this, television and lights must be turned off at exactly 10:30 PM in an effort to enforce stricter discipline and prevent them from staying up all night.
In an effort to raise awareness about the conditions that these young offenders face, Crook detailed the experience in a statement saying, "They are plunged into darkness alone and with no one to talk to until the next morning. You don't need to be a psychologist to realize that this is very dangerous. The very experience of prison is damaging to your mental health but imagine if you have had bouts of depression in the past or any kind of mental health problem and are then locked up in a cell for 22 hours a day with stinking ventilation and, really, a rather grotty diet for weeks on end. That is the prison experience today and so even people who have not had mental health problems and are quite robust will be badly damaged by the prison experience.
According to statistics, about 90% of inmates have been diagnosed with a mental health issue, while 1 in 10 are likely to have serious mental health problems at any given time. In fact, there is about 20% of the prison population that will have four out of the five major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, and depression.