The Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis and Opportunity for the Justice System

About the Book

For a myriad of reasons the criminal justice system has become the de facto mental health system. This book explores how and why this is the case. Sensationalized cases often drive criminal justice policies that can sometimes be impulsively enacted and misguided.

While there are chapters that examine competency, insanity, and inpatient and outpatient commitment, the primary focus of the book is on the bulk of encounters that clog the criminal justice system with persons with mental illnesses (pwmi). Criminal justice practitioners are often ill-equipped for dealing with pwmi in crises. However, via application of therapeutic jurisprudence principles some agencies are better preparing their employees for such encounters and attempting to stop the inhumane and costly recycling of pwmi through the criminal justice system. Coverage runs the gamut from deinstitutionalization, to specialized law enforcement responses, to mental health courts, to jails and prisons, to discharge planning, diversion, and reentry. Also, criminal justice practitioners in their own words provide insight into and examples of the interface between the mental health and criminal justice systems. Throughout the book the balance between maintaining public safety and preserving civil liberties is examined as the state's police power and parens patriae roles are considered. Reasoned, collaborative approaches for influencing and informing policies that are often driven by crises are discussed; this book also reflects more psychological underpinnings than the 1st edition, as one of the co-authors new to this edition is a forensic clinical psychologist. The following Teaching Materials are available electronically on a CD or via email (Please contact Beth Hall at bhall@cap-press.com to request a copy, and specify what format is needed): -Teacher's Manual with notes and extensive test bank in Word/pdf formats -Test bank is also available in separate files by chapter in Word and Blackboard formats. Other LMS formats may be available; let me know what you need.)
Upon adoption only, the following are also available: -3 Videos. Upon adoption only. One video illustrates Crisis Intervention Team scenarios, another explores PTSD and the third video is of a lecture author Risdon Slate gave to law enforcement in training that describes his own personal story.
-PowerPoint slides are available upon adoption. Sample slides from the full 189-slide presentation are available to view here. Email bhall@cap-press.com for more information. "I am so grateful that I have decided on this book and the resources are amazing." -- Joseph C. Marinello, lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, UNC Charlotte (on classroom adoption of second edition) "Notorious criminal cases tend to drive public opinion and policy when it comes to how our criminal justice system deals with persons with mental illnesses. Drs. Slate and Johnson's book is a far brighter star to steer by. By most accounts, including the US Department of Justice, our criminal justice system is in crisis. In The Criminalization of Mental Illness the authors explain how our justice system has failed persons with mental illnesses, the public and its own self-interests. But rather than place blame, the authors focus on illuminating the history and anatomy of the problem and offering real solutions. Because they are based on careful scholarship, their proposals are authoritative and make sense. But it is their informed empathy for all the players involved in the tragedy--not just persons with mental illnesses--that makes this book a must read for anyone involved in the criminal justice system or simply interested in knowing the truth of how it is broken and can be fixed." -- Xavier F. Amador, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, Author of the National Best Seller I am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help! and I'm Right, You're Wrong, Now What? "The book confronts myths and social/political policy failures directly; and with great honor recognizes those advocates whose work has moved social justice and mental health policy forward. [Their] dedication and passion to the subject of promoting human rights and recovery is evident in every word. It is a masterful, relevant and inspiring work." -- Ginger Lerner-Wren, the nation's first mental health court judge and member of the President's Commission on Mental Health "[This book] provides extraordinary insights into the manner by which people with mental illness are processed through the criminal justice system... I thoroughly enjoyed this work and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in issues involving mental illness and the criminal justice system. I have seen a few books in this area, but have never found one quite as comprehensive and well-researched. It is, without exception, one of the best academic books that I have read in many years." -- Penn State, Altoona, Professor Robert M. Worley in his book review for The Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Fall 2008 "This is a highly insightful and important book which corrections staff, academics, students, and the general public should know about." -- Ken Kerle, Ph.D, American Jail Association "Overall this very readable book provides a good survey of the various sectors of thecriminal justice system and their response to the substantive changes that have affected persons with mental illness during the recent past. These authors provide a valuable guide for mental health professionals interested in appropriate treatment and placement of persons with mental illness." -- Frederick J. Frese, Ph.D., Psychiatric Services: A Journal of the American Psychiatric Association "Without a doubt, it is the most comprehensive explanation of what has happened between the two systems during the past 40 or so years. It explains not only the crisis that exists and how we got here, but some interesting and innovative ways that local governments are providing solutions... [M]ore important than the chronicling of the impact of this social crisis, it demonstrates with pointed examples how the two systems intertwine with well-intentioned judicial and treatment policies. No matter how you view the issue of the mentally ill in prison, the book demonstrates that the person left out of the discussion is the defendant/offender/patient." -- Corrections Today

About the Author :
Risdon Slate is a Professor of Criminology at Florida Southern College. Jacqueline K. Buffington is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice performing forensic evaluations, and conducts trainings and research on mental health-criminal justice collaboration in jails. Wesley Johnson is a Professor and Doctoral Program Director of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Southern Mississippi.