4.1 Chapter Learning Objectives and Overview
Learning Objectives
The following learning objectives tell you what is most important in this chapter. Use these statements as a guide to make sure you get the most out of this chapter.
- Describe the problem of criminalization of mental disorders, particularly among multiply-marginalized populations.
- Discuss the importance and impact of diverting people with mental disorders out of the criminal justice system.
- Compare and contrast diversions that may be accomplished at different points in the criminal justice system.
- Evaluate the role of specific interventions (e.g., mental health courts) in the effort to avoid criminalization of mental disorders.
Key Terms
Look for these important terms in the text in bold. Understanding these terms will help you meet the learning objectives of this chapter. You can find definitions for these terms at the end of the chapter.
- Community corrections
- Criminalization of mental disorders
- Diversion
- Intercept
- Mental health court
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- Pretrial services
- Problem-solving courts
- Reentry
- School-to-prison pipeline
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Sequential Intercept Model (SIM)
Chapter Overview
Imagine a person who experiences multiple mental disorders; we can call them Jamie. Jamie is unhoused, has recently been unable to access prescribed medication, and has become increasingly mentally ill. Jamie lives in a makeshift shelter in the park and uses various substances. Jamie has created a pile of garbage and miscellaneous items near a playground structure in the park, blocking the sidewalk and limiting access for people who use the park (figure 4.1). Neighborhood residents and park users call for help from local authorities. Police respond and confront Jamie, who becomes belligerent and resists intervention. Police arrest and then hold Jamie for several hours due to perceived safety risks. While in custody, Jamie spits on the face of a deputy at the jail, incurring a more serious assault charge.
As we have learned in previous chapters, and as Jamie’s story illustrates, communities may struggle to find appropriate (i.e., effective, ethical, and positive) responses to people who experience mental disorders. The challenge of responding appropriately increases when mental disorders are difficult to manage, as when they cause disruption or offending behavior. Although most people with mental disorders do not show this type of behavior, when it does happen, it may require some sort of community safety response. Because our modern community response to public disruption generally involves law enforcement, people with mental disorders have been introduced disproportionately into the criminal justice system via law enforcement encounters and everything that may follow, including arrest, detention, conviction, and incarceration. That outcome is generally identified as a problem—the criminalization of mental disorders.
This chapter discusses the problem of criminalization and the reasons that it exists. The chapter goes on to consider diversion, or redirection, opportunities for people who have been drawn into the criminal justice system due to mental disorders. Diversions can happen at numerous points along the criminal justice system pathway—from first police contact to post-prison or post-jail reentry into the community. In this chapter, you will learn about diversion opportunities throughout the criminal justice system and consider how these approaches may reduce the criminalization of mental disorders.
Licenses and Attributions for Chapter Learning Objectives and Overview
Open Content, Original
“Chapter Overview” by Anne Nichol is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Open Content, Shared Previously
Figure 4.1. Photo of bottles on soil by Jonathan Gonzalez on Unsplash.
