Whilst the health and social care systems in the main treat and support those with mental disorders, the criminal justice system deals with them primarily as offenders, victims or witnesses. This latter approach tends to ignore their mental health needs. The book addresses solving problems in inter-agency working, and in gaining greater awareness of the ways in which people who have a mental disorder are vulnerable within and between both systems, be this in institutional settings or where they are detained by the police. The crucial issues of risk assessment and risk management for people with mental disorders, and diversion from custody, are fully covered. A relatively new and unexamined area of concern within the criminal justice system - that of mentally disordered people who are victims of or witnesses to a crime - is discussed. Each chapter contains helpful summaries and case studies which identify the relevant legal provisions, research evidence and related publications.

The International library of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Penology is an important publishing initiative that brings together the most significant contemporary published journal essays in current criminology, criminal justice and penology.

The newest entry in the cutting-edge topic of Mental Illness and Crime, this practically focused and straight-forward book from Denise Kindschi Gosselin is appropriate for both graduate and undergraduate courses. Broadly addressing psychiatric disorders, it is written to bridge the gap of information between the two disciplines of criminal justice and mental health. A must-read text for any student or professional as they consider responses to issues of mental disorders. Written from the criminal justice perspective, controversies and program evaluations are presented. Organized into five sections, Mental Illness and Crime-- Part I UNDERSTANDING MENTAL ILLNESS concern the history (past and present), classifications, and introduction to the criminal justice issues on the responses to people with mental illness. Part II THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE examines the criminal justice involved encounters that occur outside of the traditional system, involving intervention, collaboration, and civil commitment. Part III CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSES look at law and policy of law enforcement, the criminal court and corrections. Part IV ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION reflects recent changes to reentry and community corrections. The juvenile justice component includes the brief system responses to juveniles with mental disorders. Part V GLOBAL ISSUES stands alone as chapter 14 to remind us that we are not alone! The issues and system responses are not unique to the United States. This chapter puts us in perspective with the world around us. Thought-provoking "crucial questions" and end of chapter review questions facilitate class discussion while "In My Experience" questions draw upon the author's career as a Massachusetts state trooper.

Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.

This Open Access edited collection seeks to improve collaboration between criminal justice and welfare services in order to help prepare offenders for life after serving a prison sentence. It examines the potential tensions between criminal justice agencies and other organisations which are involved in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, most notably those engaged in mental health care or third sector organisations. It then suggests a variety of different methods and approaches to help to overcome such tensions and promote inter-agency collaboration and co-working, drawing on emerging research and models, with a focus on the practice in European and Scandinavian countries. For academics and practitioners working in prisons and the penal system, this collection will be invaluable.

Examining the treatment of persons with mental disabilities in the criminal justice system, this book offers new perspectives that are crucial to an understanding of the ways in which society projects onto criminal defendants prejudices and attitudes about responsibility, free will, autonomy, choice, public safety, and the meaning and purpose of punishment, all with a focus on ways to enhance dignity in the criminal trial process. It is a detailed exploration of issues of adequacy of counsel; the impact of international human rights law, following the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); the role of mental health courts; and the influence of therapeutic jurisprudence, procedural justice, and restorative justice on the legal process. It considers all of these perspectives in the context of criminal justice system issues such as competency findings, the insanity defense, and sentencing. Demonstrating how the question of treatment of persons with mental disabilities in the criminal justice system is not only a vital one for both scholars and practitioners, but also a central facet of international human rights law, this book suggests policy development, further scholarly inquiries, and newly invigorated thinking and action to place dignity at the core of the criminal justice system.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has over the last decade made an increasing mark in several fields, notably health and medicine, education and social welfare. In recent years it has begun to make its mark in criminal justice. As engagement with EBP has spread, it has begun to evolve from what might be regarded as a somewhat narrow doctrine and orthodoxy to something more complex and various. Often criminological research has been at odds with the assumptions, conventions and methodologies associated with first generation EBP. In that context EBP poses a challenge to the research community and existing evidence base and is, accordingly, hotly controversial. This book is a welcome and timely contribution to current debates on evidence-based practice in policing. With a sharp conceptual focus, the chapters provide a critical examination of the recent history of EBP in academic, policy and practitioner communities, evaluate key dimensions of its application to policing, challenge established understandings and pave the way for a much needed change in how research 'evidence' is perceived, generated, transferred, implemented and evaluated.