Department of Justice Studies, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA, USA.
Department of Psychology, San José State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA, USA.
Behav Sci Law. 2019 Jul;37(4):452-467. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2421. Epub 2019 Jul 29.
Mental health courts (MHCs) use a collaborative justice approach to provide a therapeutic alternative to the traditional justice process for defendants with mental illnesses directly relevant to their alleged criminal offenses. MHCs have proliferated in recent years, in light of early research reports documenting their successes. The aim of this paper is to provide further evaluation of the effects of MHCs by evaluating the impact of the Sacramento County MHC in California. We analyzed quantitative data and conducted interviews with stakeholders and MHC participants to understand how the MHC influenced individual participants' recidivism rates, mental health, and quality of life. Results from the quantitative data analysis indicate that defendants had a lower rate of recidivism after the MHC program than before it. Moreover, graduates were less likely to be rearrested and rehospitalized than non-graduates. Qualitative analyses revealed several core themes regarding participants' views on facilitators and barriers related to the MHC's success. These findings provide further insights into the effectiveness of MHCs.
心理健康法庭 (MHC) 采用协作式司法方法，为被指控的精神疾病与他们涉嫌的犯罪行为直接相关的被告提供一种替代传统司法程序的治疗方法。鉴于早期研究报告记录了 MHC 的成功，近年来 MHC 已经大量涌现。本文旨在通过评估加利福尼亚州萨克拉门托县 MHC 的影响，进一步评估 MHC 的效果。我们分析了定量数据，并与利益相关者和 MHC 参与者进行了访谈，以了解 MHC 如何影响个人参与者的累犯率、心理健康和生活质量。定量数据分析的结果表明，被告在 MHC 计划后比计划前的累犯率更低。此外，与非毕业生相比，毕业生再次被捕和再次住院的可能性较小。定性分析揭示了参与者对 MHC 成功相关的促进因素和障碍的几个核心主题。这些发现为 MHC 的有效性提供了更深入的见解。
