This report comprises 47 policy statements, each of which can serve as a guiding principle or as the underpinning of an initiative to improve the criminal justice system's response to a person with mental illness.  Each policy statementis followed by a series of recommendations - lettered statements in bold text - highlighting the steps that should be taken to implement the corresponding policy.  The policy statements and recommendations will help agents of change to focus their efforts on particular aspects of the interaction between individuals with mental illness and the criminal justice system.

Woven into the discussion of each recommendation are examples of programs, policies, or elements of state statutes that illustrate one or more jurisdiction's attempt to implement a particular policy.  By highlighting certain approaches, however, the report is not promoting them as "best practices." They are simply efforts that involve partnerships, resourcefulness, or even longtime practices for other communities to consider.

Just as this report recognizes that each person with mental illness is unique, the report's authors understand that communities, their problems, and potential solutions vary considerably across the country.  What works in one community may not be a perfect fit for its neighbor, let alone for a community halfway across the continent.  Indeed, this report emphasizes that each community must find its own solutions to these complex and interwoven problems.  The practices and approaches chosen for examples in this report are themselves continuing to evolve and adapt to changing community conditions.

The policy statements in the report are divided into two parts.  Part One is organized according to events on the criminal justice continuum that provide significant opportunities to change the course of involvement a person with mental illness might have with the criminal justice system.[1]  The first event (and the corresponding policy statement) addresses the obligation of the mental health system to minimize the frequency with which a person with mental illness comes into contact with police.  Subsequent policy statements describe options that should be available and policies that should be in place for law enforcement, courts, corrections, and community corrections officials encountering people with mental illness. 

Four themes recur throughout the first part of the report:  1) improving collaboration; 2) training staff; 3) measuring and evaluating outcomes; and 4) building an effective mental health system.  The policy statements in Part Two of the report are organized according to these cross cutting themes. 

The policy statements and recommendation for implementation in this report contemplate a broad spectrum of the population with mental illness in contact with the criminal justice system.

The report identifies approaches for addressing issues related to the inappropriate involvement of people with mental illness with the criminal justice system.  It does not, however, set out to exonerate all people with mental illness of any wrongdoing, nor does it intend to insulate them from the consequences of their actions.  Some people with mental illness may commit crimes for which they, like anyone else, should be arrested, prosecuted, or imprisoned.   In these, as in all serious criminal cases, prosecutors, judges, and juries should consider all available evidence and decide accordingly.   With this in mind, this report addresses both people with mental illness who are charged with (or convicted of) committing misdemeanors and those who have been charged with (or convicted of) committing serious felonies.[2]