Are People with Mental Illness More Violent?

I was in college when Columbine happened and the university grew concerned that one of their students with mental illness might decide to copycat the shooting. So they treated me to a no-knock, no-warrant search of my dorm room out of concern I might become violent--even though I had no history of violence and no warning signs. The director of the counseling center, my therapist and even the dean said I was no threat, and I was allowed to graduate, even though I was kicked out of the dorm. The university was worried about me--or more accurately, about my conduct--because I was a mental health consumer. But are people with mental illness more violent than people without mental illness?

Mental Illness and Violence

So are people with mental illness more violent than people without mental illness? The short answer is no. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators. In the rare cases where there is a risk of violence, the person most at risk is the caretaker--not the stranger on the street. And there are usually warning signs, such as substance abuse and medication non-compliance. People with a mental illness should not be feared simply because they have a mental illness.

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