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Recidivism Outcomes for Suburban Mental Health Court Defendants

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Abstract

Mental health courts have recently emerged as one means to reduce the number of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system. Using a post-test only comparison group design, this study examined rearrest rates for 1 year post discharge among three groups meeting admission criteria for a municipal mental health court. The rearrest rate of defendants who successfully completed the program (N = 351) was 14.5%, compared to 38% among defendants negatively terminated from the program (N = 137), and 25.8% among defendants who chose not to participate (N = 89). This positive result held even when controlling for a range of variables in a Cox regression survival analysis. Factors associated with rearrest are identified for each of the three groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, P.O. Box 1455, Edwardsville, IL, 62026, USA

    P. Ann Dirks-Linhorst

  2. School of Social Work, College of Education and Public Service, Saint Louis University, 3550 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63103, USA

    Donald M. Linhorst

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  1. P. Ann Dirks-Linhorst
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  2. Donald M. Linhorst
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Correspondence to P. Ann Dirks-Linhorst.

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Dirks-Linhorst, P.A., Linhorst, D.M. Recidivism Outcomes for Suburban Mental Health Court Defendants. Am J Crim Just 37, 76–91 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-010-9092-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-010-9092-0

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