Assignment – Interviews
Instructions:
You will interview at least 2 people on the subject of attitudes towards mental illness and criminal justice.
You need to ask 10 questions of the two people you interview. Come up with your own questions and make sure that your question makes sense for the person you are interviewing (Example: you wouldn’t ask someone who has never been met anyone with a serious mental illness “What were your impressions when you met someone with a serious mental illness?”). Below are examples of questions that you can use. Be creative. Make sure to ask 10 questions to each person you interview. They can be the same or different questions – that is up to you.
Do you think mental illness can lead to criminal justice involvement later? Does it matter if that mental illness is properly treated with medication or not?
How do you think society should treat offenders with mental illness differently from other offenders?
Do you believe that offenders with mental illness are more likely to reoffend compared to other offenders? If so, why?
How do you think the media portrays offenders with mental illness? Do you think this portrayal is accurate, and if not, how do you think it could be improved?
What do you think are the most common misconceptions about offenders with mental illness? How can these misconceptions be addressed and corrected?
Type the 10 questions you want to ask. Conduct your interviews and fill in your interviewee’s responses. These don’t have to be word for word, but should fully summarize what your interviewees said.
Pro-tip – you can record their answers (with their permission) and type them up later or use a dictation service to transcribe for you – this is available in Microsoft Word.
After your interviews, write a 1-2-page summary reflecting on what you found out and how it has impacted your view of criminal justice-involved persons with mental illness. Were there any clear differences or similarities between the people you chose to interview based on race, ethnicity, sex, age, political affiliation, prior experiences with someone with mental illness?