NCJ Number
76963
Journal
Medicine Science and the Law Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1981) Pages: 31-40
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Descriptive information on the social control network for deviants in six countries with diverse social, economic, and cultural backgrounds is compared.
Abstract
The comparison is part of a larger World Health Organization study aimed at providing those responsibile for making laws and administrative regulations with comparative information concerning the assessment of dangerousness in which mental health expertise or concepts are used. This report aimed to establish a framework by which the key decision points and assessment procedures related to social deviance could be located within the social control system. Investigators in Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Swaziland, Switzerland, and Thailand gave descriptions on a semistructured questionnaire of the procedures by which deviants enter and pass through the control system. Each report was based on interdisciplinary discussions so the material would reflect a multidisciplinary and multisectorial perspective. In each country, it was possible to identify a five-stage control and management sequence: discovery, official screening, disposal, release, and aftercare. In addition, a clear distinction could be made between the mental health and criminal justice systems. Differences were apparent in the extent of community involvement in the discovery stage and in the role of the primary level of health services. In some instances, differences were also apparent between rural and urban areas and between the way in which rich and poor people were handled. In all countries, community aftercare services were insufficient, particularly for offenders released from the prison system. Footnotes and a six-item reference list are included. (Author abstract modified)