Research/Document Library

Examining Prevailing Beliefs About People with Serious Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System

The article first provides background information on the long-standing problem of people with serious mental illness (PSMI) being processed through the criminal justice system instead of the mental health system. It explores theories related to the causes of the overrepresentation of people with mental illnesses in the justice system, including deinstitutionalization. The article then briefly describes programs that have been implemented to serve PSMI under the authority of law enforcement, courts, and corrections. The difficulty of managing PSMI in the criminal justice system is further complicated by mental illness being only one of a number of problems experienced by criminally involved PSMI.

Available online

http://www.uscourts.gov/

Author(s)

Arthur J. Lurigio

Date

06/2011

Periodical

Federal Probation

Issue or page citation

Volume:75 Issue:1 Dated:June 2011 Pages:11 to 18