Effect of Mental Health Courts on Arrests and Jail Days

Abstract

Mental health courts meet the public safety objectives of lowering posttreatment arrest rates and days of incarceration. Both clinical and criminal justice factors are associated with better public safety outcomes for MHC participants.

Prospective Study of Violence Risk Reduction by a Mental Health Court

“…Study participants were recruited between November 22, 2005, and January 27, 2008, at the San Francisco site of the MacArthur Mental Health Court Study, a multisite study of the effectiveness of MHCs (14,22). The treatment group consisted of newly enrolled MHC participants.…”

“…To develop the propensity scores, we considered analyses performed on data across sites of the multisite MacArthur MHC Study (14) (including the present sample), which constructed a logistic regression model of assignment to an MHC or treatment as usual that considered numerous variables in the categories of demographic characteristics, personal characteristics, history of violence and trauma, substance use history, and criminal justice history. [Further information on development of propensity scores is available in an online supplement to this article.]…”

“…Existing data suggest that MHC participation can reduce risk of criminal recidivism (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), although not all studies support that conclusion (17,18). Little research has investigated the effectiveness of MHCs specifically for reducing risk of violence, a gap in the literature that may be related to the fact that early MHCs typically were restricted to persons charged with nonviolent misdemeanors (9,17).…”

Fostering Innovation in the U.S. Court System: Identifying High-Priority Technology and Other Needs for Improving Court Operations and Outcomes

“…In 1997, there were only two known mental health courts. As of 2010, there are approximately 250 (Steadman et al, 2011). Veteran treatment courts operate by diverting eligible participants so that their individual issues can be identified and treatment and services tailored to each person's specific needs.…”

Effectiveness of Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Services for Offenders With Mental Disorders: A Review

“…Two studies employed a matched design in which the MHC group and comparator group were matched on sociodemographic, criminal, and diagnostic variables (20,24), and the second study also matched groups on symptomatology (21,22). The other two studies employed a nonequivalent comparison group design whereby participants were matched on variables with statistical control for other between-group differences (23,25). Further methodological differences existed in terms of comparator groups, each of which included either jail detainees (24), court attendees from a neighboring county (20)(21)(22), participants who had attended court during the previous year (25), or participants who were eligible for the MHC but who were not referred to the service (23).…”