NCJ Number
88059
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: 153-167
Date Published
1982
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The current trend towards the deinstitutionalization of mental patients has led some to predict a movement into the criminal justice system. This paper describes an attempt to examine this hypothesis by comparing commitment and arrest rates in Philadelphia before and after the enabling legislation.
Abstract
The hypothesis of movement into the criminal justice system was not supported by the comparison of rates, nor by an examination of the careers of ninety-four selected ex-patients. The implications of the findings are discussed, with reference to similar studies in different states; and the conclusion is reached that the results must be interpreted in the light of the changing role of the criminal justice system as well as that of the mental hospital. (Publisher abstract)