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The NGRI acquittal of those charged with murder represents an area of potential public criticism, since individuals are believed to have "beaten the system" and escaped punishment and accountability for their crimes. The public wants to be assured that few defendants are found NGRI and that acquittees are not released too quickly.This project determines through secondary analysis of an existing database, how, or if, crime severity, affects the length of NGRI hospitalization. Specifically, do those individuals committed as NGRI for murder spend longer periods of time in the inpatient psychiatric hospital than do individuals committed for less serious offenses. These analyses can assist in addressing whether the mental health system has followed the criminal justice system in a tough on crime approach. In an era of tight mental health budgets and reduced inpatient psychiatric hospital beds, decisions to retain individuals in higher cost inpatient settings become critical. If this population does have a statistically significant increased length of stay, then the question becomes whether the individuals are retained for clinical reasons or tough on crime perception considerations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[We would prefer to present in a standard panel format]This presentation examines the use of jail-based substance abuse treatment among probationers. It uses data from a jail-based substance abuse treatment program in a large suburban jail in a Midwestern state. Included are all probationers (N=704) under supervision by the state board of probation and parole who entered the treatment program from October 5, 2001 to April 22, 2005, and who successfully completed the program and were released from jail by July 23, 2005. The majority of probationers (55%) entered the jail-based program after revocation of their probation. The others were sentenced to the jail-based program and then placed on probation after leaving jail. Almost all clients (95%) were placed on probation after leaving the program. The presentation first describes the probationers, including demographic characteristics; preferred substances to use; clinical information; the crime or crimes for which they were admitted to the program; and program outcomes including substance use, probation success, and new arrests during probationers first year in the community after release from the program. We then identify the factors associated with the three program outcomes using multiple logistic regressions. Recommendations for future directions will also be highlighted. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health courts are a recent innovation in court processes and policy. Originating as an outgrowth of drug courts, the first mental health court began in 1997, and a July 2004 survey identified 98 mental health courts in 33 states. This presentation examines the development and implementation of the first three years of the St. Louis County Municipal Mental Health Court (MMHC). The MMHC serves portions of a suburban county of one million people. The initial development and subsequent modification of the MMHC are described. Also described are the demographic, residential, clinical, and crime characteristics of the 297 clients referred to the MMHC during its first three years. Next, the flow of clients through the court process, including identification and referral of potential MMHC participants, assessment and acceptance of clients, mental health service provision and compliance monitoring, and case closures, is described. The presentation concludes with lessons learned from the experiences of the MMHC that are applicable to the creation of mental health courts in other jurisdictions and to the development of criminal justice and mental health public policies that are supportive of mental health courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]