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Understanding Mental Illness And Responding to Suicide In Criminal Justice Settings

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS ON MENTAL HEALTH

[Adopted August 8, 2016, to supplant the Third Edition (August 1984) of the ABA Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards, For the version of the Mental Health Standards in effect prior to August 8, 2016, please click here.]

PART I: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Standard 7-1.1. Terminology

(a) Unless otherwise specified, these Standards adopt the definition of “mental disorder” found in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association.* In the settings addressed by the Standards, mental disorder is most likely to encompass mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders; developmental disabilities that affect intellectual and adaptive functioning; and substance use disorders that develop from repeated and extensive abuse of drugs or alcohol or some combination thereof.

(b) “Mental health professional,” as used in these Standards, includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and psychiatric nurses and other clinicians with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of mental disorders.

See Also: Criminal Justice Standards On Mental Health (2943 downloads )

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ON THE CORNER: Day Labor in the United States

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Executive Summary

This report profiles, for the first time, the national phenomenon of day labor in the United States. Men and women looking for employment in open-air markets by the side of the road, at busy intersections, in front of home improvement stores and in other public spaces are ubiquitous in cities across the nation. The circumstances that give rise to this labor market are complex and poorly understood. In this report, we analyze data from the National Day Labor Survey, the first systematic and scientific study of the day-labor sector and its workforce in the United States. This portrait of day labor in the United States is based on a national survey of 2,660 day laborers. These workers were randomly selected at 264 hiring sites in 139 municipalities in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The sheer number of these sites, combined with their presence in every region in the country, reflects the enormous breadth of this labor

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Comorbidity of DSM-IV Personality Disorders in Unipolar and Bipolar Affective Disorders

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The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of Personality Disorders assessed by Structured Clinical Interview for Axis-II in 155 inpatients diagnosed with Unipolar Disorder vs inpatients with Bipolar Disorder (39). The most frequent Axis II diagnoses among Unipolar inpatients were Borderline (31.6%), Dependent (25.2%), and Obsessive-Compulsive (14.2%) Personality Disorders. Among Bipolar inpatients, the most prevalent personality disorders were Borderline (41%), Narcissistic (20.5%), Dependent (12.8%), and Histrionic disorders (10.3%). Using chi squared analysis, few differences in distribution emerged between the two groups: Unipolar patients had more recurrent Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder than Bipolar patients (chi(1)2=6.24, p<.005). Comorbid Narcissistic Personality Disorder was significantly more frequent in the Bipolar than in the Unipolar group (chi(1)2=6.34, P<.01). Considering the three clusters (DSM-IV classification), there was a significant difference between the groups, Cluster C (fearful, avoidant) diagnoses being more frequent in the Unipolar than in the Bipolar group (48.4% vs 20.5%, respectively). Cluster B (dramatic, emotionally erratic) diagnoses were found more frequently in

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Prison Suicide: An Overview and Guide to Prevention

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INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Writing about “difficult prisoners” in his autobiography Fifty Years of Prison Service, Zebulon R. Brockway appeared perturbed by the prospect of managing suicidal inmates and by the resulting publicity in the event of their deaths. As superintendent of Elmira Reformatory (often described as the original model from which progressive penology evolved) from 1876 to 1900, Warden Brockway described his experience with three prison suicides: One, a prisoner on parole in New York City who violated his obligations, was taken for kindly investigation to the secretary of the Prison Association, at the rooms then situated in the third story of the Bible House. While awaiting the secretary’s convenience the young man suddenly dashed through an open window to his death on the pavement below. The newspapers made a sensational account of it and inquired why, if the reformatory was as it should be, a paroled man should voluntarily go to his death rather than be returned to treatment there.

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Attorney General Opinion | Bill Lockyer

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Is the state or a county responsible for the payment of the costs of (1) a report required before a court may consider suspension of a defendant’s sentence, where the defendant has been convicted of a lewd or lascivious act on a minor under 14, (2) an examination of a defendant’s mental competency, (3) an examination of a defendant, who has been convicted of a felony, to determine whether an involuntary civil commitment should be made due to narcotics addiction, (4) an examination of a person, in the absence of a criminal proceeding, to determine whether a civil commitment should be made due to narcotics addiction, (5) an examination and testimony in connection with an involuntary civil commitment of a person believed to be imminently dangerous to others, (6) evaluations and counsel regarding a civil commitment due to an inmate being a sexually violent predator, and (7) an examination of a defendant where a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity” has been entered?

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Potential Liabilities of Probation and Parole Officers

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FOREWORD

In 1982, the National Institute of Corrections published the first comprehensive overview of potential legal liabilities that can confront probation and parole officers as the result of their decisionmaking and work with offenders. The initial report addressed the primary areas of litigation against probation and parole officers and administrators; relevant caselaw; and the various forms of liability, immunity, confidentiality, good faith, and indemnity. The initial publication generated high interest among probation and parole practitioners and, for that reason, the Institute contracted with the original author to update the material in light of more recent cases. The Institute has also developed a training program regarding legal liabilities of probation and parole officers, which is presented through its National Academy of Corrections. As with the first edition of this report, it must be emphasized that this revised edition was prepared for a national audience; the reader must obtain specific guidance from his/her state or local jurisdiction.

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Crime Scene Robot and Sensor Simulation

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Abstract

Virtual reality has been proposed as a training regime for a large number of tasks from surgery rehearsal (cf. [Robb et al. 1996], to combat simulation (cf. [U. S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment 1994]) to assiting in basic design (cf. [Fa et al. 1992]). Virtual reality provides a novel and effective training medium for applications in which training “in the real world” is dangerous or expensive. Here we describe the C2SM simulator system – a virtual reality-based training system that provides an accurate simulation of the CBRNE Crime Scene Modeller System (see [Topol et al. 2008]). The training system provides a simulation of both the underlying robotic platform and the C2SM sensor suite, and allows training of the system to take place without physically deploying the robot or the simulation of chemical and radiological agents that might be present. This paper describes the basic structure of the C2SM simulator and the software components that were used to construct it.

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Legal Rights of Persons ‘with Disabilities

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EMPLOYMENT

This chapter discusses state and federal statutes which promote access to employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

I. STATE LAW

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects the right of individuals to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability or medical condition. It also prohibits retaliation against a person who has opposed unlawful discriminatory practices under the FEHA or participated in an investigation into unlawful employment practices. (Gov. Code, ' 12940, subd. (h).) The FEHA also prohibits harassment on the basis of a person=s disability. (Gov. Code, ' 12940, subd. (j).)

A. Definition of Disability and Medical Condition

1. Disability

The definition of "disability" under the FEHA includes both physical and mental disabilities.

a. Physical disability

Physical disability includes having any physiological disease, disorder, condition, cosmetic disfigurement or anatomical loss, or having a record of such impairment, or being regarding as having or having had such an impairment, that:

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Information Concerning Out-of-State Prisoners

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Recent Developments Regarding Out-of-State Transfers

October 2006 – The Governor’s Proclamation

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is facing an overcrowding crisis. On October 4, 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency and issued a Proclamation on overcrowding. The Proclamation recognized that the current level of overcrowding threatens the health and safety of prisoners and prison staff. To address the overcrowding crisis, the Governor ordered CDCR officials to enter into contracts to transfer adult California prisoners to out-of-state prisons operated by private companies or by state or county agencies. The Governor ordered that the CDCR start by transferring prisoners who volunteer for out-of-state placement. The Governor’s Proclamation also over-rode the theneffective version of Penal Code § 11191, which stated that no prisoner could be transferred to serve a California sentence prison in another state without the prisoner’s written consent the Proclamation authorized the CDCR to transfer prisoners involuntarily if the CDCR deemed such transfers to be

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Overview of the Interstate Compact Process

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About the Commission

Developed in 1937 and designed to regulate the movement of probationers and parolees across state lines, the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) is enacted in all 50 states and three U.S. territories (District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico). Revised in 2002, the compact provides states the authority, accountability, and resources to track the supervision of offenders who move across state lines, thereby enhancing public safety and offender accountability. ICAOS has become a powerful and adaptive tool for promoting and ensuring cooperative action among the states and a single standard of supervision for offenders.

Mission Statement

The Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision will guide the transfer of offenders in a manner that promotes effective supervision strategies consistent with public safety, offender accountability, and victims’ rights.

Compact Organization

Governor appointed commissioners in every state act on behalf of the state, region, and broader national interest to promote the

Additional Resorurce: Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision

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No Body Murder Investigations

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“How can you prosecute a murder without the body?” I cannot count the number of times I have been asked this question over the past ten years. My answer has always been the same: “Yes, it can be done and has been done, more times than you think.” If murder is the ultimate crime, then a “nobody” murder is the ultimate murder. In our nation’s history there have been just under 400 no-body murder trials, that is, trials where the victim’s body has never been found. Now, for the first time ever, this book will provide a practical guide for police and prosecutors facing the challenges in these cases. This book takes an expansive look at both the history of no-body murder cases and the best methods to solve and try them. I will take the reader step by step from the first days of a homicide investigation through the trial

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How To Find Hidden Cameras

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1 Introduction

During the last few years the number of surveillance cameras has grown out of bounds. Cameras have been installed in many public and semi-public places such as universities [1], streets, supermarkets, gas stations, parking garages, cinemas, bars, shops, busses, train stations and even discos. About 25 million CCTV cameras are estimated to be in operation worldwide at the time of writing [2]. Some countries, notably Great Britain, are trying to fully cover every corner of public life with cameras. The Privacy International CCTV page [3] states that between 225 and 450 Million Dollars are spent on surveillance technology in Britain per year, involving an estimated 300.000 cameras. These efforts result in a person driving through the city of London being filmed at least once every five minutes [4]. In the near future cameras may even be installed in all taxis, keeping an eye on the passengers [5]. In Houston, Texas, about 400 cabs have been equipped with such cameras [6]

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Tiger Kidnap – The Threat To The Uk Banking Sector

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In recent years tiger kidnap has continued to present a serious threat to companies in the United Kingdom and internationally. Recorded figures have shown that since 2003 there has been a yearly increase in this type of offence within the UK , culminating in a substantial 300% increase to 2006, with those businesses operating in the financial sector most at risk. Within Europe, figures released recently by Belgian law enforcement agencies indicate a 1500% increase in this type of offence with a substantial increase in the targeting of businesses within the banking sector (91%, 29 in 2006). The profile of tiger kidnap has been raised recently thanks to the headline-grabbing losses incurred and dramatic nature of incidents such as the Northern Bank raid2 in 2004 in Northern Ireland and more recently the Securitas raid in Tonbridge, Kent in 2006. The banking sector has traditionally been the primary target for tiger kidnap, due to the perceived cash holdings of premises, physical security i

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Public and Private Applications of Video Surveillance

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Executive Summary

At the request of the Senate Committee on Privacy, chaired by Senator Steve Peace, in this report the California Research Bureau (CRB) presents a survey of Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) and biometric security systems used in the United States and in other countries. We find that an increasing number of cities, schools, transit districts and public housing are deploying CCTV surveillance systems to monitor and protect the public. Our first survey, in 1997, found that only 13 city police departments in the country used CCTV video surveillance systems, primarily to monitor pedestrian traffic in downtown and residential districts. Technological advances, declining costs, and heightened security concerns following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have led to rapid diffusion of both CCTV surveillance and biometric technologies. For example, CCTV video surveillance is widely used in public schools to monitor student movement and detect illegal activity, and at street intersections to catch cars running red lights. Private sector applications greatly

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Special Forces Tracking and Countertracking

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INTRODUCTION

1-1. This TC describes traditional tracking through rural terrain and, to a lesser extent, discusses urban tracking. Understanding the ancient art and science of tracking lays a firm foundation for a variety of activities useful in SF operations. A Soldier trained in tracking techniques can use deception maneuvers that minimize telltale signs and throw off or confuse poorly trained trackers who do not have the experience to spot the signs of a deception.

1-2. An understanding of the thought processes and the TTP used in traditional tracking are useful as an adjunct to and a basis for understanding an array of modern, technologically-based tracking activities. Traditionally, tracking has been defined as the art of being able to follow people or animals by the signs they leave when they move. Today, it is possible to track the enemies of the United States through electronic means, such as the equipment used with...

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Synthesis Of Natural Arm Swing Motion In Human Bipedal Walking

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Abstract

It has historically been believed that the role of arm motion during walking is related to balancing. Arm motion during natural walking is distinguished in that each arm swing is with the motion of the opposing leg. Although this arm swing motion is generated naturally during bipedal walking, it is interesting to note that the arm swing motion is not necessary for stable walking. This paper attempts to explain the contribution of out-of-phase arm swing in human bipedal walking. Consequently, a human motion control methodology that generates this arm swing motion during walking is proposed. The relationship between arm swing and reaction moment about the vertical axis of the foot is explained in the context of the dynamics of a multi-body articulated system. From this understanding, it is reasoned that arm swing is the result of an effort to reduce the reaction moment about the vertical axis of the foot while the torso and legs are being controlled. This idea is applied to the

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