TRENTON, NJ – Police in Trenton have announced that an escaped and presumed dangerous psychiatric patient who had escaped a local hospital is back in custody.
The Trenton Police Department had issued an urgent alert regarding a walk-away from the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital.
Police thanked the community for their assistance in locating the escaped patient.
The Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, located in Trenton, New Jersey, is one of the oldest psychiatric institutions in the United States, established in 1848. The creation of the hospital was part of a broader movement towards reforming how society cared for individuals with mental illnesses, spearheaded by figures such as Dorothea Dix.
The hospital was founded to provide a more humane alternative to the incarceration of individuals with mental health issues, which was common practice at the time.
It was originally called the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, reflecting the terminological norms of the era. The establishment of the hospital was influenced by the mental health reform movement of the 19th century, which advocated for better conditions for the mentally ill and for specialized institutions for their treatment.