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Recommendations for Implementation
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Assure that victim assistance offices have the expertise to meet the special needs of people who have been victimized by someone with
a severe mental illness.
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In recent years, great strides have been made in
recognizing that victims of crime need assistance understanding both the legal
process involved in the prosecution of their case and their rights as
victims. Many jurisdictions have
established victim assistance offices that provide services to victims of
crime, usually violent crimes. Staff from these offices typically act as a
link between the prosecutor and victims, keep victims apprised of the status of
the case, explain the court process to victims, and escort victims to court
hearings. This recommendation addresses how offices
that provide victim assistance can better address the needs of persons who have
been victimized by someone with a mental illness.
Information
In cases where the accused person suffers from a mental
illness the victim needs to be aware of the ways in which the criminal justice
and mental health systems converge.
Defendants with a mental illness may be subject to different legal
procedures, such as a competency screening to determine their ability to
understand the charges and their fitness to stand trial. In addition, victims
may know little about mental illness
- its causes, its impact on
behavior, and how best to treat it.
Providing such information should be viewed not as minimizing the
victimization experienced, but as help for victims in understanding why they
were victimized - an important part of the healing process.
Confidentiality versus the Right to Know
The rights of victims to be informed about what is going
on with their case must be balanced, however, against the medical privacy
rights of the person with mental illness.
It may be difficult for victims to understand that the privacy rights of
the person who victimized them outweigh their rights to information. There are actions that should be taken,
though, to assure that victims receive all the information to which they are
entitled. Victims should be informed
immediately and as a matter of routine of any actions taken that become part of
the public record. These would include
when the defendant is being released, whether on pretrial diversion, pretrial
release, or as part of a sentence, with the condition to participate in mental
health treatment; when a competency screening has been ordered; or when the
defendant enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
In the overwhelming majority of victimizations caused by
people with mental illness, however, releasing mental health information to the
victim will not be an issue because the victim is already aware of the
situation. It is estimated that 85
percent of those victimized by a person with a mental illness are either family
or friends of the perpetrator. These victims need assistance at yet another
level. A typical reaction of a loved
one who has been victimized by a person with mental illness is to try to obtain
help for that person. After perhaps
experiencing numerous victimizations without pressing criminal charges, these
victims ultimately may turn to the criminal justice system out of fear or
frustration. When doing so, they may
feel torn by being the complaining witness against a loved one. When they wish to do so, they should be advised
on such issues as how to contact the defendant's attorney, how to assist in
getting a signed consent to the release of the defendant's mental health
information, and who to contact in the jail to make sure that the defendant is
receiving his or her medications. They
may also require additional supportive services to help resolve issues of guilt
in reporting their loved one.
In short, in addition to the general role of victim
assistance to explain how the criminal justice system works and what victims'
legal rights are, when the alleged perpetrator has a mental illness victim assistance
should also be prepared to do the following:
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explain the causes of mental illness and the impact it can have on a person's behavior
- explain how the mental health system works, including
confidentiality requirements
- define terminology that the victim may encounter, such
as "competency," "mental health court," and "Not
Guilty by Reason of Insanity;" and
- help family members or others who have been victimized
by a loved one with mental illness deal with issues of guilt.
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Victims with mental illness
It is important to note that, contrary to the public
perception that people with mental illness are more likely to commit violent
crimes, studies show that individuals with mental illness are actually more
likely to be the victims of violent crimes than people without mental
illness. Though this issue is, in large
part, beyond the scope of this report, victims' assistance offices should
consider developing the expertise to meet the special needs of victims who have
mental illness. These crime victims
often face a variety of challenges, including low employment, lack of
affordable housing, and substance abuse.
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