NCJ Number
94640
Journal
American Psychologist Volume: 39 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1984) Pages: 749-803
Date Published
1984
Length
10 pages
Annotation
There has been a great deal of speculation that mentaly ill persons are being processed through the criminal justice system rather than the mental health system. To date, this thesis has been based more on intuition than on empirical research. This article presents data from a study of 1,382 police-citizen encounters that suggest that the mentally ill are indeed being criminalized.
Abstract
Specifically, it was found that, for similar offenses, mentally disordered citizens had a significantly greater chance of being arrested than non-mentally disordered persons. This finding has far-reaching public policy implications vis-a-vis the basic tenets of the community mental health movement, as well as for optimal functioning of the criminal justice system. Several public policy modifications are suggested. (Author abstract)