Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City (Compton, Zern, Pope); Gateway Behavioral Health Services, Savannah, Georgia (Graves, Anderson, Ellis); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and St. Luke's/West Hospital Center, New York City (Pauselli); DeKalb Community Service Board, Atlanta (Ashekun, Langlois); Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee (Watson); Department of Criminal Justice, College of Liberal Arts, Temple University, Philadelphia (Wood).
Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Oct 1;73(10):1102-1108. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000581. Epub 2022 Apr 5.
Individuals with serious mental illnesses are overrepresented in all facets of the legal system. State-level criminal histories of patients with serious mental illnesses were analyzed to determine the proportion who had been arrested and number of lifetime arrests and charges, associations of six variables with number of arrests, and the most common charges from individuals’ first two arrests and most recent two arrests.
A total of 240 patients were recruited at three inpatient psychiatric facilities and gave consent to access their criminal history. Information was extracted from Record of Arrest and Prosecution (RAP) sheets for lifetime arrests in Georgia.
A total of 171 (71%) had been arrested. Their mean±SD lifetime arrests were 8.6±10.1, and mean lifetime charges were 12.6±14.6. In a Poisson regression, number of arrests was associated with lower educational attainment, Black or African American race, the presence of a substance use disorder, the presence of a mood disorder, and female sex. Common early charges included marijuana possession, driving under the influence of alcohol, and burglary and shoplifting. Common recent charges included probation violations, failure to appear in court, officer obstruction–related charges, and disorderly conduct.
Findings point to a need for policy and program development in the legal system (e.g., pertaining to charges such as willful obstruction of an officer), the mental health community (e.g., to ensure that professionals know about clients’ legal involvement and can partner in strategies to reduce arrests), and social services sectors (to address charges, such as shoplifting, often related to material disadvantage).
患有严重精神疾病的个体在法律体系的各个方面都存在过度代表现象。分析了患有严重精神疾病患者的州级刑事犯罪记录，以确定被捕者的比例和终身逮捕次数和指控次数，以及六个变量与逮捕次数的关联，以及个体首次两次被捕和最近两次被捕的最常见指控。
在三家住院精神病院共招募了 240 名患者，并同意查阅其犯罪记录。从乔治亚州的逮捕和起诉记录（RAP）表中提取了有关终身逮捕的信息。
共有 171 人（71%）被捕。他们的平均终生逮捕数±SD 为 8.6±10.1，平均终生指控数为 12.6±14.6。在泊松回归中，逮捕次数与受教育程度较低、非裔美国人种族、物质使用障碍、情绪障碍和女性性别有关。早期常见的指控包括持有大麻、酒后驾车以及入室盗窃和商店行窃。近期常见的指控包括违反缓刑规定、不出庭、妨碍官员相关指控以及行为不检。
研究结果表明，法律系统（例如，与故意妨碍官员等指控有关）、心理健康社区（例如，确保专业人员了解客户的法律参与情况，并能够合作制定减少逮捕的策略）和社会服务部门（例如，解决与物质劣势有关的商店行窃等指控）都需要制定政策和方案。
