Home      Login

Abstract: 

Mental health courts are a response to the overwhelming numbers of inmates who appear to be suffering from a mental health disorder. Estimates vary widely, but on the upper end, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found this applied to 62% of jail inmates and 50% of prison inmates. These proportions are likely low in the judicial-correctional structure noted. These courts have proliferated across the United States over the past 30 years, with more than 470 nationwide. Significantly, there is little consistency in how they operate, and the director of Mental Health Court Programs at the Center for Court Innovation has pointed out that mental health courts were an experiment based on “no significant research testing their underlying logic.” While undeniably an improvement over criminal courts in handling the mentally ill, this article weighs some of the pros and cons of mental health courts, and asks, “why arrest mentally ill people in the first place?”

Keywords: Mental Health Courts; Supportive Housing; Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion

Affiliations:  1: Associate Editor.