Dr. Wrenn and Dr. McGregor are with the Department of Psychiatry, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. Dr. Munetz is with the Department of Psychiatry, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown.
Psychiatr Serv. 2018 Jul 1;69(7):829-831. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201700420. Epub 2018 Apr 16.
People with serious mental illness are more likely to be arrested multiple times for the same crime, spend more time in jail before adjudication, serve longer sentences, and have higher recidivism rates than those without mental illness. Several conceptual foundations, such as the sequential intercept model and the risk-needs-responsivity model, have been developed to help communities address the overrepresentation of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system. The Stepping Up Initiative is a national effort to enlist counties to commit to reduce the number of people with mental illness in their jails. The 21st Century Cures Act has created opportunities to fund community treatment and help people with serious mental illness live a productive life in their community. Public officials may need to be shown the substantial cost savings likely to accrue from an investment in effective community treatment. The time to act is now.
患有严重精神疾病的人更有可能因同一罪行多次被捕，在判决前被监禁的时间更长，被判的刑期更长，累犯率也高于没有精神疾病的人。为了帮助社区解决精神疾病患者在刑事司法系统中比例过高的问题，已经制定了几个概念性基础，如序贯拦截模型和风险-需求-反应性模型。“Stepping Up Initiative”是一项全国性的努力，旨在争取各县承诺减少监狱中精神疾病患者的数量。《21 世纪治愈法案》为提供社区治疗提供了资金，并帮助患有严重精神疾病的人在社区中过上富有成效的生活。可能需要向政府官员展示从有效社区治疗投资中获得的大量节省成本。现在是采取行动的时候了。
