A recent report published by the Brookings Institute focuses on the inadequate and sometimes deadly result of using police as first responders for people in need of immediate mental health response. The report's authors, Stuart M. Butler and Nehath Sheriff, argue that crisis situations wherein individuals may have behavioral or mental health needs require an approach that shifts police away from leading the response and instead uses mental health professionals and community resources to help individuals secure the care they need. The Data The authors cite several high-profile cases wherein police responded with force when encountering individuals with mental health or developmental issues. … [Read more...] about Rethinking Role of Police for Mental Health Response: Brookings Institute Highlights Crisis Team Models
Archives for February 2021
Research to Advance Smart Decarceration Policies, Programs, and Interventions
After decades of not just increasing populations in prisons and jails in the United States but unconscionable mass incarceration, several different efforts began to reduce these numbers. Some efforts looked at policy; some at decision-making, and some looked at the bottom line, (i.e., the costs to continue mass incarceration). Nearly ten years ago the concept of “Smart Decarceration” was introduced. This article provides a summary of new research presented in Criminal Justice and Behavior Special Issue, Volume 48, Number 1, January 2021. What is Smart Decarceration? Decarceration is a descriptive term that is sometimes used to generically describe population reduction in secure … [Read more...] about Research to Advance Smart Decarceration Policies, Programs, and Interventions
The Implications of Neuroscience for the future of Criminal Justice and Prison Reform
In a Sept/Oct Newsletter contribution, I suggested that our brains’ reflexive amygdala-powered fear/anger responses to the prevailing views of criminals explained the persistence of America’s increasingly punitive “tough-on-crime” policies. Even with declining national crime rates in the U.S., offenders continue to face legal and social barriers to community reintegration, despite the fact that they had “done the time,” and America grapples with an enduring sociopolitical resistance to proposed criminal justice and prison reform interpreted to reflect a “soft on crime” attitude. In this article, I continue to examine the implications of neuroscience and brain functioning in influencing … [Read more...] about The Implications of Neuroscience for the future of Criminal Justice and Prison Reform
IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for the Start of 2021
We've compiled top highlights from news stories, research, and resources across the world in this month's IACFP International News summary. Our topics for the beginning of 2021 include IACFP leadership updates, student research awards, updates from the International Mental Health Leadership Network, new research, and COVID resources for practitioners. 1. IACFP Effective 1 January 2021, Jeffrey Pfeifer became the IACFP President and Frank Porporino moved to Past-President. The other members of the board’s executive committee are newly elected President-Elect, Sarah Shelton, Treasurer, Diane Williams, and Secretary, Richard Althouse. Jeffrey Metzner and Melvin Hinton were appointed to … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for the Start of 2021