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The indistinguishables: determining appropriate environments for justice involved individuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2019

Sean E. Evans Open the ORCID record for Sean E. Evans [Opens in a new window]  and
Shannon M. Bader
Sean E. Evans*
Affiliation:
California Department of State Hospitals, Clinical Operations, Office of Clinical Research and Program Implementation, Sacramento, California, USA.
Shannon M. Bader
Affiliation:
New Hampshire Department of Corrections, Office of the Forensic Examiner, Centurion Managed Care, Concord, New Hampshire, USA
*
*Address correspondence to: Sean E. Evans, PhD, California Department of State Hospitals, Office of Clinical Research and Program Implementation, Sacramento, CA, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Criminalizing those with mental illness is a controversial topic with a long and complex history in the United States. The problem has traditionally been dichotomized between criminals (i.e., “bad”) in need of placement in jails and prisons and the mentally ill (i.e., “mad”) who are need of treatment in psychiatric facilities. Recent trends demonstrate significant increases in the rates of mental illness in jails and prisons, as well as increased rates of violence within psychiatric hospitals. This would suggest that there are a group of justice involved individuals who are “indistinguishable” within the traditional dichotomous categories of dangerousness and mental illness. The authors argue for a more nuanced model that dimensionally conceptualizes dangerousness and mental illness; increased attention to situational factors that create facilities appropriate for those who are dangerous and mentally ill and more diversion programs for those inappropriate for incarceration or hospitalization.

Keywords

Decriminalizingmental illnesssituational variablesdangerousnessenvironment.
Type
Perspectives
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , April 2020 , pp. 122 - 127
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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Footnotes

The findings and conclusions in “The Indistinguishables: Determining Appropriate Environments for Justice Involved Individuals” are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Department of State Hospitals or the California Health and Human Services Agency.

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