Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System

Ian Cummins is senior lecturer in social work at the University of Salford. His main research revolves around the experiences of people with mental health problems in the Criminal Justice system with a focus on policing and mental illness. This is linked to an exploration of the development of the penal state and its interaction with community based mental health services. He is interested in the ways the CJS has become, in many incidences, the default provider of mental health care

I find it a very accessible and important contribution to the literature. - Margarete Parrish, Bournemouth UniversityI particularly enjoyed the refreshing, challenging and energized style of writing, which engaged the reader in key themes related to mental health. - Kay Wall, University of WorcesterThe book clearly raises current and past issues around mental health care provision, CJF and social care amongst people with mental illness.This format works well to create awareness for professional responsibility and accountability in practice, but also critically raises the debate around policy-practice gap relating to mental health provision of mentally ill offenders and wider systemic challenges faced by frontline staff. - Herbert Mwebe, Middlesex University

• Foreword Introduction Key Decision Points A Short History of Community Care Madness and the riminal Justice System: Ethical Issues Prisons Mental Health and Forensic Services Policing and Mental Illness The Way Forward: Rediscovering Dignity