This article describes the major factors that have led to the criminalization of persons with serious mental illness (PSMIs), and it presents several core principles for improving the care of PSMIs in the criminal justice system. These principles include mental health training for criminal justice staff, pretrial diversion projects, coordinated services for criminally involved PSMIs, integrated treatment for PSMIs with co-occurring disorders, aftercare linkage for PSMIs released from jails and prisons, continuous care models with single-point access to services for PSMIs with lengthy records of hospitalization and arrest, and more and better research on PSMIs involved in the criminal justice system.
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