The Processing and Treatment of Mentally Ill Persons in the Criminal Justice System: A Scan of Practice and Background Analysis

This "background analysis examines how individuals with mental illness are processed and treated in the criminal justice system and discusses the implications of insufficient or inadequate care for these individuals. In particular, the main objectives of this paper are to review current practice in the processing of mentally ill offenders, assess societal and economic costs associated with recidivism and insufficient care for this population, and highlight promising strategies to tackle challenges involved in the reintegration of mentally ill offenders into society" (p. 1). Sections following an executive summary are: introduction; research objective and focus-severe mental illness among individuals involved in the criminal justice system; data and methodology; findings related to the scope of the problem, costs associated with managing mentally ill individuals in the criminal justice system, current practice and policy, and criminal justice programs and interventions for mentally ill individuals; research and policy recommendations; and conclusion.