Claustrophobic Criminal

[monty0703]

If someone who was genuinely claustrophobic was arrested, would the police have to find an alternative to a police cell? And what if they committed a crime that required a custodial sentence?

[funnygirl]

What you mean like Paris Hilton, who claimed she was claustrophobic????
I can't them letting you go early here!!!

[monty0703]

Didn't know about Paris Hilton's apparent phobia. I mean if a person was truly claustrophobic with medical records showing previous panic attacks/treatment etc...

[joko]

i think they would just haave a doc give medication and put them in the largest cell they have.

what else can they do?

this would not be classed as a way to get off with a crime and not serve time

it would be considered the crims own fault and a risk they took

[loonytunes]

Suggestion - if the punishment is likely to mean the claustrophobic criminal being locked up, he should consider not committing the crime. It is not compulsory to break the law.

[mrs_overall]

One of my brothers is a traffic policeman and I asked him about this. He said he's known of a couple of genuinely claustrophobic prisoners. One was allowed to sit in the cell corridor (outside the cells but still behind a locked gate) and the other was allowed to sit with the custody sergeant. He said both were quiet prisoners (one a suspected shoplifter, one was suspected of causing criminal damage). He says if they were drunk, violent or had committed a serious offence like murder, it would be tough but they would be in a cell.

[gardener2]

I think monty has a very valid point.A confined space would constitute double punishment. Those that don't suffer this condition tend to mock those with a genuine affliction yet to a greater or lesser extent we all have some type of phobia.I am an acute sufferer with claustrophobia and it rules my life.I recently went to a police station merely to REPORT that my car had been broken into and was asked to wait in an interview room for an officer to take details.Before I realised what was happening I was on my own and the door had been locked behind me! Despite my protestations I was kept there for twenty minutes before the door was opened.
The police thought my behaviour was irrational albeit that is precisely how a phobia is defined by those who don't understand the condition.

[loonytunes]

Gardener, its not that I don't understand the condition but I don't understand why someone would voluntarily commit a crime involving a possible custodial sentence if they are likely to have problems with this consequence. Nobody has to commti the offence. I have a fear of electrocution so, consequently, will not kill anyone in the USA.

[Stu Dent]

It's an interesting question. My guess (and it's only that), is that if genuinely true, and depending on all the relevant facts and circumstances, and seriousness of the phobia, it could constitute a breach of the prisoners human rights. To that extent, it's a question that cannot be clearly answered. Let me expand.

Whilst Article 3 of the ECHR prohibits torture, degrading treatment or degrading punishment, those rights are qualified and are not absolute. So, within certain parameters, the confinement of a claustrophobic prisoner may be permissible.

My thoughts are that the state would have to do everything reasonably within their powers to prevent the prisoner (or the accused) from coming to any harm caused by the comnination of the illness and the conditions of confinement. So, the public interest and safety would be a major consideration, as would the question of what suitable custodial facilities existed, if any.

Put it like this: If a person is suspected (or has been convicted) of murder, and circumstances are that there is no suitable accommodation to cater for the prisoners psychological illness, then that's too bad on the prisoner. The rights of society will supercede those of that individual prisoner, who may be possibly confined to a prison or state hospital.

If we are talking about a serial shoplifter who poses no danger to the public, and he is confined to a cell in the knowledge that imprisonment will exacerbate his illness and sentence, then this may be a breach of ECHR. If the imprisonment was given in order to intentionally harm the prisoner, it would almost certainly breach human rights.

So no easy answers I'm afraid. The devil is in the detail.

[joko]

very few people go to their gp about a phobia - so you could have a severe problem but have no evidence for it.

I myself suffer from claustrophobia, but only in very small places like a sleeping bag or if i was in a wardrobe or something - as long as i can move my arms i am fine - i only doscovered it when i have had to crawl through gaps and tubes etc on film sets and when an old boyfriend used to roll me up in a duvet for a laugh but i would freak out, so i do know how daft it can seem to others, but very weird the the person suffering.
probably buried alive in a past life...lol

the point is cells are small - but not that small - i suspect it was more that the door was locked and that it was a cell - not the actual size of the room that was a problem - do you have the same problem in other peoples bathrooms...? probably not... its not size but place that you are phobic about.

[monty0703]

This question was asked out of pure curiosity (it's odd what you think about walking to work). I am neither claustrophobic or criminal!

[beck07]

i am very claustrophobic and i was in a police cell the other day, i was only in there for something silly- it already had on my police file i was scared to be in a closed cell and neede a police officer to sit with me. they didnt listen to this and threw me in a cell and i started to have a panic attack and haveing difficulty breathing. i pressed my panic alarm constantly for at leats 10 minuets and nobody came to see me, when they finally got to me the officer pulled the letter box thing open and watched me have a panic attack saying' if you stop breathing thats your problem not mine'..
i was left for another 3 hours by myself very scared and no way out! they finally came to get me for questioning and i told another officer what had haapend and she said if it happens again press your panic alram and i will make sure i tell them your priority and need to be seen if you press it..
despite this and after having another panic attack was ignored for another 3 hours. if i had choked on my vomit i would have died in there that night and nobody would have known! i have a 10 week old baby how would they have explained that to him?? guilty or not guilty of a crime- we should be treated as humans in a police cell... we are still human and dont deserve that ****!

[Helenah]

I can't believe the amount of people commenting on this post saying "Commiting a crime isn't compulsory" and things like that. We have human rights for a reason, countries ban the hanging for a reason.

What is the ultimate reason why everyone should be treated with dignity and their health needs provided? Because not only do guilty people end up in prison but innocent people though not common can be wrongly accused and put in prison so why should anybody be forced to deal with their worsening health that's worsening as a result of ending up in a prison cell?

I'm Autistic, ADHD, Intersex, got gender dysphoria, I also have a very rare skull base cancer and trust me I wouldn't be able to cope in a prison cell and so my experience would be unfair, it would be worse than the experience of everyone else there despite having the same treatment there. Why should I have to suffer worse if I'm ever wrongly accused?

Here's why I would struggle in that environment:
1) A cell wont allow me to stim to control my ADHD.

2) Autistic people don't do we in confined spaces, I don't and have meltdowns and panic attacks.

3) Autistic people are very sensitive to stimuli and therefore the cell lights would drive them crazy, so would the background noises also resulting in meltdowns and panic attacks.

4) I would need to be accommodated separately when it comes to hygiene because of my gender dysphoria, I could again have a panic attack.

5) With my cancer I get tired easily and in a lot of pain all the time, how would I deal with that inside a cell as I need the best comforts as I can get for my neck and a cell wont provide that.

6) There's a channel cut out of my clivus bone therefore that bone is weak, it's the pivot which supports the head on the spin and if I'm thrashing around with my Autistic meltdowns and my panic attacks then I'm at high risk of breaking my neck, even if a prison in-mate was to be physically violent to me, they could unintentionally break my neck and people don't go to prison to die, not in the UK, in the UK it's about taking away ones liberties, that is all. Not all countries have a good justice systems and people get treated like pieces of meat under it.

Now for a bit of detail on how they treat Autistic people in UK prison, they slowly introduce them into the environment, they allow them to wander around obviously with a guard to get used to the surroundings and get familiar with them because being unfamiliar with an environment and forcing an Autistic person into that unfamiliar environment will cause the meltdowns and panic attacks and that's cruel.

They are also accommodated seperately from other inmates and not expected to mix in with them.

I'm a woman but I'm intersex, got male and female sexual characteristics. How the UK prison system works is if you identify as a woman, you got to a womans prison and if you identify as a man, you go to a mans prison, that means I'll go to a womans prison but to be honest I feel both a mans and a womans prison wouldn't be suitable for me that's why it's important that we can sort out our hygiene at different times from other inmates.