Incarcerating Mental Health: Criminal Justice and the Mentally Ill

Incarcerating Mental Health: Criminal Justice and the Mentally Ill provides a critical analysis of how the criminal justice system responds to individuals with mental illnesses. Its distinct focus on public policy analysis, constitutionality, and the implications of conflicting policies that influence this response ensures that readers come away with an understanding of both macro and micro aspects of this criminal justice challenge. With an eye toward rehabilitation and restorative justice, the book underscores the reality of comorbidity and examines how policies have led to a negative criminal justice response toward those with mental illnesses.

The text offers a strategic overview, assessing the system in its entirety rather than in isolated parts. It includes in-depth analysis of policies and their practical application, historical case studies, and a discussion of the need for interprofessional collaboration to initiate policy change. The book serves as a multidisciplinary resource, merging insights from psychology, political science, and criminal justice to foster understanding and potentially influence reform.

Recommended predominantly for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses, Incarcerating Mental Health complements studies in criminal justice policy, administration of justice, and other related disciplines that require a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system and its complex dynamics concerning mental health.