NCJ Number
69606
Date Published
1980
Length
139 pages
Annotation
This book examines the idea that the social control theory of the therapeutic state, defining social deviance as a treatable illness, causes a merger of the criminal justice and mental health systems.
Abstract
The analysis focuses almost exclusively on adults, although many of the conclusions could also apply to children. Current trends, problems, and issues affecting the status of the relationship between the therapeutic state and medical explanations of deviance and the criminal justice and mental health systems are examined. Discussion covers examples of behaviors that have been transferred from criminal designations to sickness designations, including public drunkenness, drug abuse, sexual deviance, gambling, mental retardation, political dissent, and child abuse. A detailed review of current court decisions which relate to the therapeutic state examines such subjects as the right to treatment, the right to refuse treatment, civil commitment, guardianship and conservatorship, the control of mental health and medical records, and the issue of being not guilty by reason of insanity. A consideration of forces leading to an alliance of the criminal justice and mental health systems surveys the current status of the criminal justice system, remedies for problems, and the reasons for increased interaction of the two systems. Problems accompanying this merger are reviewed, followed by specific recommendations for correcting abuses, including the need for a due process model. Chapter notes, an index, and a bibliography of approximately 150 references are provided.