Too Good To Be True: Second Thoughts on the Proliferation of Mental Health Counts

Authors

H Archibald Kaiser, Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Keywords

Mental Health Courts, Criminalization, Mental Illness and Crime, Law and Policy

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed the proliferation of mental health courts, proffered by governments as an efficacious and sometimes exclusive response to the complex social dynamics causing the criminalization of persons who live with mental health problems. the ready embrace of this variant of the problem-solving-courts genre has diverted policy-makers and citizens from confronting the root causes of the challenging intersection of mental illness and crime. the new courts have acquired a legitimacy that belies a wide range of doubts about their existence and operation. this commentary will offer a counterpoint to the accelerating momentum of mental health courts. it is intended to discourage their creation and to sharpen the monitoring of functioning courts.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

H Archibald Kaiser "Too Good To Be True: Second Thoughts on the Proliferation of Mental Health Counts" (2010) 29:2 Can J Community Mental Health 19.