Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System (Monographic Separates from the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation) [Paperback]

Daniel W. Phillips III (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2007 | ISBN-10: 078903770X | ISBN-13: 978-0789037701 | Edition: 1

Discover how to best provide effective mental health treatments for criminal offenders

Prisons and jails are increasingly being filled with inmates who suffer from mental illness and need treatment. Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System examines a wide range of the latest research and learned perspectives focusing on the intersection of mental health services and the criminal justice system. Top experts and academics discuss mental health treatment, its availability, it effectiveness, and just how cost effective it truly is to treat those in prisons and jails. This valuable text provides a broad interdisciplinary view of the topic and presents important qualitative and quantitative research of specific topics, such as the effectiveness of prisoner representatives, the causal link between incarceration and mental illness, and the expanding rates of correctional offenders with mental illness.

Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System discusses a wide range of pertinent topics focusing on the viability and functioning of mental health treatment models in prisons and jails. Recommendations on desired correctional mental health programs are presented, along with strategies to better provide therapeutic services. Respected experts provide practical suggestions on research that needs to be addressed in the future. The book is extensively referenced and includes several tables and figures to clearly present data.

Other topics in Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System include:

• the prevalence of mental illness in jails and prisons—and the duty society has to provide appropriate mental health treatment
• three components critical to the success of jail diversion programs
• ethics of doing research on prisoners
• an extended care community corrections model
• the experience of mitigation experts in first degree murder cases in the penalty phase of the trial
• the criminalization of the mentally ill because of fragmentation of mental health services
• correctional offenders with mental illness (OMIs)—and their differences from the general offender population
• the role of the helping alliance in juvenile probation settings
• and much more!

Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Justice System is a timely, insightful text for anyone in the criminal justice or mental health fields, educators, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduate students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A WELCOME ADDITION TO THE LITERATURE. . . . A COMPELLING SUMMARY of the data regarding the size, scope, and complexity of the issues. . . . Goes beyond reminding us of the system failures that led to the over-representation of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system and challenge us to confront that history by changing the way we serve people. The authors portray the diversity of sub-populations and offer guidance on managing the balance between therapeutic and safety concerns for both youth and adults. . . . A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE READ AND DISCUSSED by professionals in the fields of mental health, criminal justice and addiction. . . . Gets us closer to a shared understanding, a common vision, and the elements of a strategy that will result in more treatment, less incarceration, and more lives restored. -- Margaret A. Pennington, MSSW, Director of Planning, Evaluation and Consultation Services, R.E.A.C.H. of Louisville, Inc.

READERS WILL BENEFIT FROM THE TIMELINESS AND BREADTH OF COVERAGE and also from the realistic nature of the focus; the focus is on problems and issues routinely faced in the field rather than celebrated, unusual cases. Particularly informative are the sections of the volume that address mental health issues in prison and jail settings as well as sections addressing successful community adjustment. -- Kevin Minor, Professor and Chair, Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies, College of Justice and Safety, Eastern Kentucky University

TIMELY AND INFORMATIVE. . . . The articles discuss the growing nature of the problem, some of the special challenges that offenders with serious mental illness present for the corrections system as well as some programs and strategies to more effectively deal with offenders with a serious mental illness within the criminal justice system. -- Elizabeth Rehm Wachtel, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies, Eastern Kentucky University

INSIGHTFUL AND POWERFUL. . . . Phillips understands the challenges and needs that jails across America face regarding the mentally ill. . . Honest and aware of the prevalence of mental illness in jails and prisons and what is happening to the mentally ill due to the lack of resources, medications, funding, successful diversion programs and therapeutic services and the need for services upon release. . . . A WONDERFUL AND IMPORTANT ACCOUNT OF MENTAL ILLNESS IN JAILS AND PRISONS and what is needed to assist this population in being successful. -- Marilyn Rogan, BS in Education, Captain of Central Booking Bureau, Clark County Detention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Daniel W. Phillips III PhD is associate professor of sociology and criminal justice and the criminal justice program coordinator at Lindsey Wilson College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (June 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078903770X
• ISBN-13: 978-0789037701
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)