NCJ Number
185529
Date Published
January 2000
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores the blurred boundaries between the criminal
justice and mental health systems in the United States.
Abstract
Major changes in mental health policies and laws have placed
untold numbers of persons with serious mental illness (PSMIs) in
the community, where they receive inadequate or intermittent care
or no care at all. These changes have caused criminal justice
professionals to become involved with PSMIs at every stage of
the justice process. This chapter focuses on the arrest,
incarceration, and community supervision of PSMIs. The authors
review research on the relationship between serious mental
illness and violent crime and trace the historical developments
that have apparently produced growth in the numbers of PSMIs in
the criminal justice system. The chapter also examines how the
increased numbers of PSMIs have compelled criminal justice
organizations to alter their policies, procedures, and
relationships with mental health providers and to confront the
difficulties that arise in initiating and sustaining these
relationships. Because of the prevalence of drug abuse and
dependence disorders among PSMIs in the criminal justice system
and the correlation between drug misuse and violent behavior, the
authors consider the problem of comorbidity (serious mental
illness and substance abuse and dependence disorders). Throughout
the chapter, exemplary criminal justice programs for PSMIs are
described. The chapter concludes with general recommendations for
improving the future care of PSMIs in the criminal justice
system, such as building enduring connections between the mental
health and criminal justice systems; creating aftercare and
consolidated services programs for PSMIs being supervised in the
community; developing consistent standards of care for PSMIs in
corrections enterprises; and pursuing more research on the nature
and extent of serious mental illness among various correctional
populations. 253 references
Date Published: January 1, 2000
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