Book Review: Mentally Ill People and the Criminal Justice System

• Author: Daniel W. Phillips
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016805282751
• Published date: 01 September 2005
• Date: 01 September 2005
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/0734016805282751Criminal Justice ReviewBook Review Essays

Mentally Ill People and

the Criminal Justice System

Daniel W. Phillips, III

Correctional Mental Health Handbook, by Thomas J. Fagan and Robert K. Ax (Eds.). Thou-

sand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003, pp. xvi, 353.

The Evolution of Mental Health Law, by Lynda E. Frost and Richard J. Bonnie (Eds.). Wash-

ington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001, pp. xiv, 336.

Integrated Treatment for Dual Disorders: A Guide to Effective Practice, by Kim T. Mueser,

Douglas L. Noordsy,Robert E. Drake, and Lindy Fox. New York:Guilford, 2003, pp. xxiv, 470.

Because of the revolving nature of incarceration and release back into the community,

incarceration presents an opportunity for the state to treat mentally ill offenders while con-

fined. Many offenders within the criminal justice system are individuals whose main prob-

lem is mental illness, not serious criminal behavior. Mentally ill offenders are frequently

arrested by police officers on minor charges (a “mercyarrest”) to remove them from the street

and place them in jail where they will receive food and shelter.In the past, psychiatric hospi-

tals would have housed the mentally ill, but because of a reduction in psychiatric hospital

beds, jails now serve as a substitute for inpatient treatment (Teplin & Pruett, 1992). Regard-

less of the reasons for entering the criminal justice system, courts mandate that the govern-

ment treat serious medical conditions of those incarcerated, including mentally ill detainees,

and that the government provide help for those who cannot take care of themselves.

The books in this article detail how the criminal justice system treats mentally ill offenders

while they are in custody and a wealth of information about specific treatments. Although

legal and correctional workers are required to deal with mental illness, it can be difficultto do

so in an adversarial system that has become increasingly punishment oriented. Criminal

defendants and convicts may strategically claim to be mentally ill in an attempt to evade or at

least reduce their punishment. This places correctional officials in the position of having to

decide whether an inmate is faking an illness.

These books deal with a variety of subtopics concerning the mentally ill in the criminal

justice system: how the law has evolved to deal with persons with mental illness since the

1970s (Frost & Bonnie); a practical guide of current mental health and substance abuse thera-

pies, including one chapter on implementing treatment in a correctional setting (Mueser,

Noordsy, Drake, & Fox,2003); and a thorough discussion of how to design and deliver men-

tal health treatment in correctional environments (Fagan & Ax). Although the Mueser et al.

text was written by four authors and reads like a treatment manual complete with a workbook,

the other two books were edited and have been written by nearly three dozen authors. Some

215

Criminal Justice Review

Volume 30 Number 2

September 2005 215-219

© 2005 Georgia State University

Research Foundation, Inc.

10.1177/0734016805282751

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