What was not working in all three of these criminal justice settings…policing, courts and corrections…that caused practitioners in each of these to alter their approaches to those with mental health issues coming into contact with the criminal justice system?

Assignment # 6 -1 Essay “Mental Health Courts“

In Dr. Snell’s conversation about Mental Health Courts, he describes the fundamental change in the way defendant’s are dealt with in this court setting. In the readings and videos for this unit, there are similar fundamental differences…from policing to corrections…in how we are dealing with mental health issues impacting the criminal justice system.

After completing all of the readings, watching the videos, and finally viewing Dr. Snell’s video presentation consider these changes and lessons learned (make sure to read the BJA article associated with mental health courts).

In an essay, describe:

• What was not working in all three of these criminal justice settings…policing, courts and corrections…that caused practitioners in each of these to alter their approaches to those with mental health issues coming into contact with the criminal justice system?
• What were the commonalities among the solutions identified; or in other words, even though they are very different components of the CJ system, what are the common themes of the changes in approach among the three (how are they similar)?
• What needs to be further done to train CJ professionals, to further change the way our system deals mental health issues, and
• How do we as CJ professionals educate the public to maintain support and understanding of this new reality in our communities?

Write your responses in 2 to 3 well-crafted pages, and making sure to refer to the readings and videos in this Unit. No citations are required