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Mental health & the justice system

Justice Center|Alaska|National|International

See also:

Mental health courts

Deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill during the 1960s and 1970s led to increased numbers of people with serious mental illness in the community. Since then, the criminal justice system has increasingly absorbed mentally ill individuals who had difficulty living independently in the community. The increase in the U.S. homeless population — among whom the mentally ill are highly represented — during the last three decades of the 20th century exacerbated the situation, as did the "war on drugs" which led to increases in the arrest and prosecution of drug-involved offenders who were also mentally ill.

Justice Center

Alaska Justice Forum articles

See also Mental health courts.

"Corrections and State Mental Health Funding" by Antonia Moras (2004).

"Corrections and the Mentally Ill." (2002). Includes information specific to Alaska.

"Human Rights Watch: The Mentally Ill in U.S. Prisons—A Review" by Antonia Moras (2004).

"Inmate Mental Health and Treatment: A BJS Report." by the Bureau of Justice Statistice (2006).

"Mentally Ill Inmates in Alaska Prisons" by Antonia Moras (2004).

Alaska

See also Mental health courts.

Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority: Disability Justice. Aims to reduce the involvement and recidivism of Trust beneficiaries in the criminal justice system and increase the criminal justice system's ability to accommodate the needs of victims and offenders who are Trust beneficiaries. See related publications.

National

Council of State Governments

Criminal Justice Mental Health Consensus Project. A national effort to help local, state, and federal policymakers and criminal justice and mental health professionals improve the response to people with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Resource listings

Correctional Health. Resources on health, mental health and substance abuse problems in jails and prisons from the Centers for Disease Control.
Inmate assistance: Mental health. Resources from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Publications

Ill-Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness. Human Rights Watch, 2003.

"Keeping the Peace: Police Discretion and Mentally Ill Persons" by Linda A. Teplin. National Institute of Justice Journal, July 2000, NCJ 183455.

Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates by Lauren E. Glaze and Doris J. James. Bureau of Justice Statistics, September 6, 2006, NCJ 213600.

Mental Health Screens for Corrections by Julian Ford, Robert L. Trestman, Fred Osher, Jack E. Scott, Henry J. Steadman, and Pamela Clark Robbins. National Institute of Justice, May 2005.

"Mental Health Treatment in State Prisons, 2000" by Allen J. Beck and Laura M. Maruschak. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, July 2001, NCJ 188215.

"Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers" by Paula M. Ditton. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, July 1999, NCJ 174463.