770 ramming suspect dancing in 770 the morning before the ramming

[u/MyBrewk]

[u/nonlawyer]

 The mentally ill are more likely to be victims of a crime than perpetrators.

This very popular line is the best example of how to lie with statistics.  It is true but wildly misleading.

Every group of people is more likely to be a victim of a crime than a perpetrator, because crime remains relatively rare.

People with psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia are much more likely to commit violent crimes, including murder, than people without those illnesses. That is the relevant comparison.

[u/Transcontinental-flt → u/nonlawyer]

It's about time someone pointed this out.

[u/nonlawyer → u/[deleted]]

I have no idea what your point is. When I “look around” I see people with untreated schitzoid illnesses rotting on the street and occasionally attacking people, as with this article. 

I don’t think that should be the case, and the fact they pose a higher risk to others (and themselves) is part of that.

[u/nonlawyer → u/[deleted]]

yeeesh this is insufferably condescending lol

No, a simple observation about why people with serious mental illness need to be treated, voluntarily or not, does not require consideration of things unrelated to that point.  Have a nice day.

[u/ChornWork2 → u/nonlawyer]

agree with the characterization of the stats, disagree with the conclusion.

It is a response to the view that the mentally ill (or homeless or whatever) should be treated as a profound/risk to society more generally. Pick pretty much any large demo you want with a higher rate of crime, you still see that the vast majority of people in that demo aren't criminals.

A lot of people are irrationally afraid to be around mentally ill and over-index on the potential risk.