Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug;99(4):635-654.
doi: 10.1007/s11524-022-00635-5. Epub 2022 May 2.

Criminal Justice Involvement after Release from Prison following Exposure to Community Mental Health Services among People Who Use Illicit Drugs and Have Mental Illness: a Systematic Review

Ashleigh C Stewart  1   2 , Reece D Cossar  3   4 , Brendan Quinn  3   5 , Paul Dietze  3   5   6 , Lorena Romero  7 , Anna L Wilkinson  3   5 , Mark Stoové  3   5
Affiliations

Criminal Justice Involvement after Release from Prison following Exposure to Community Mental Health Services among People Who Use Illicit Drugs and Have Mental Illness: a Systematic Review

Ashleigh C Stewart et al. J Urban Health. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Illicit drug use and mental illness are common among people in prison and are associated with higher rates of reoffending and reimprisonment. We conducted a systematic review, searching MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO to January 10, 2022, for studies reporting criminal justice involvement following exposure to community mental health services among people released from jail or prison who use illicit drugs and have mental illness. Our search identified 6954 studies; 13 were eligible for inclusion in this review. Studies were separated into three broad categories based on community mental health service type. Eleven of 13 studies reported a reduction in criminal justice involvement among participants exposed to community mental health services compared to a comparison group. Findings indicate a need to expand and improve integration and referral mechanisms linking people to community mental health services after jail or prison release, alongside a need for tailored programs for individuals with complex illicit drug use and mental health morbidities.

Keywords: Community mental health services; Criminal justice involvement; Illicit drug use; Mental health; Prison; Systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The health of Australia’s prisoners 2018 . Canberra: (AIHW) 2019.
    1. Baldry E, McDonnell D, Maplestone P, Peeters M. Ex-prisoners, homelessness and the state in Australia. Aust N Z J Criminol. 2016;39(1):20–33. doi: 10.1375/acri.39.1.20. - DOI
    1. Baranyi G, Scholl C, Fazel S, Patel V, Priebe S, Mundt AP. Severe mental illness and substance use disorders in prisoners in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies. Lancet Glob Health. 2019;7(4):e461–e471. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109x(18)30539-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Borschmann R, Thomas E, Moran P, et al. Self-harm following release from prison: aA prospective data linkage study. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2017;51(3):250–259. doi: 10.1177/0004867416640090. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Butler T, Indig D, Allnutt S, Mamoon H. Co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder among Australian prisoners. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2011;30(2):188–194. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00216.x. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types