Persons with severe mental illness in jails and prisons: A review

Lamb, H. Richard; Weinberger, Linda E.

doi:10.1002/yd.23320019005

Cited by 208 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…This finding should be interpreted cautiously, however, given that mental illness could only be ascertained in the data available for this study if a study group member's prison stay was directly before or after their stay in a mental health facility. Only 1.1% of the study was identified as mentally ill by this measure, a proportion that, according to the research in forensic mental health, vastly under-represents the number of persons with severe mental illness among incarcerated populations (Lamb and Weinberger, 1998). The unavailability of clinical measures of mental illness (as well as for substance abuse) is one of the limitations of this study, and it stands counter to the large degree of attention these issues have received in research on both incarceration and homelessness.…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Burt et al (2001) paints an even bleaker economic picture for the homeless, showing median household income to be less than 50% of the poverty income guidelines, with less than half of the households (i.e., families or individuals) having any income from employment and less than 20% with any type of job that could be considered permanent. High rates of mental illness and substance abuse have also been widely documented in research on both populations (Burt et al, 2001;Conklin et al, 2000;Freudenburg, 2001;Lamb 1998;Peters et al, 1998). Finally, this convergence of characteristics also manifests spatially, as both incarceration and homelessness disproportionately affects persons in low-income urban black neighborhoods (Correctional Association of New York, 1990;Culhane et al, 1996;Wacquant, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Homeless Shelter Use and Reincarceration Following Prison Release*

Metraux

Culhane

2004

Criminology & Public Policy

155

135

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Research Summary: This paper examines the incidence of and interrelationships between shelter use and reincarceration among a cohort of 48,424 persons who were released from New York State prisons to New York City in 1995–1998. Results show that, within two years of release, 11.4% of the study group entered a New York City homeless shelter and 32.8% of this group was again imprisoned. Using survival analysis methods, time since prison release and history of residential instability were the most salient risk factors related to shelter use, and shelter use increased the risk of subsequent reincarceration. Policy Implications: These findings show both homelessness and reincarceration to be substantial problems among a population of released prisoners, problems that fall into the more general framework of community reintegration. They also suggest that enhanced housing and related services, when targeted to a relatively small at‐risk group among this population, have the potential to substantially reduce the overall risk for homelessness in the group.

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Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Homeless Shelter Use and Reincarceration Following Prison Release*

Metraux

Culhane

2004

Criminology & Public Policy

155

135

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“…Also, police, who see troublesome situations through the lens of their role as "law enforcers" are motivated to maintain their authority in conflict situations, often invoking the power of arrest to do so. These processes have led some to argue that mental illness has been "criminalized," with mentally ill suspects more likely to be arrested than suspects who are not mentally ill (Lamb and Weinberger, 1998;Lamb et al, 2002;Steury, 1991;Teplin, 1990).…”

Section: The "Criminalization" Of Mental Illnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatric Hospital Capacity, Homelessness, and Crime and Arrest Rates*

Markowitz

2006

Criminology

134

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As a result of developments in pharmacology, stricter standards for involuntary commitment, and changes in public expenditures, there has been a dramatic decline in the capacity of public psychiatric hospitals to maintain America's most severely mentally ill. Psychiatric deinstitutionalization has led to an increased presence of persons with mental illness in urban areas, many “falling through the cracks” of community‐based services. This is hypothesized to have contributed to homelessness, crime, and arrests. Individual‐level research has documented disproportionate and increasing numbers of mentally ill persons in jails and prisons. It has also found higher rates of violence and arrest among persons with mental illness compared to the general population. This study takes a macro‐level social control approach and examines the relationships between psychiatric hospital capacity, homelessness, and crime and arrest rates using a sample of eighty‐one U.S. cities. I find that public psychiatric hospital capacity has a statistically significant negative effect on crime and arrest rates, and that hospital capacity affects crime and arrest rates in part, through its impact on homelessness. In addition, I find no crime‐reducing effect of private and general psychiatric hospital capacity.

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“…Additionally, the mental health of incarcerated women is poorer compared with nonincarcerated women. Emotional and physical abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and substance abuse are commonly reported (Fogel & Belyea, 2001;Lamb & Weinberger, 2001;Young & Reviere, 2005).…”

Section: Women and Incarcerationmentioning

confidence: 99%