Comparative Perspectives on Mental Health and Justice Systems
A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Crime and Justice".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 54
Special Issue Editor
Interests: criminology; incarceration and punishment; deviant behavior; sociological foundations; criminal justice policy; mental health and criminology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The intersection of mental health issues and justice systems is a growing challenge around the world. It is further complicated by the high rate at which individuals with co-occurring disorders come into contact with the justice system. In this Special Issue, we invite contributions of both theoretical and empirical work on how mental health challenges impact justice systems around the world and how systems are attempting to better address this growing problem.
Key questions for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following: How do different countries measure the prevalence of mental health issues in their justice systems? How are mental health challenges affecting justice systems around the world? How are countries attempting to better respond to mental health crises? How are justice systems using diversion efforts for individuals with serious mental illness? How are countries dealing with individuals with serious mental illness who are incarcerated? How are other parts of the carceral system, such as community supervision, used to address mental illness within the system? What are the unique challenges and barriers faced by individuals with serious mental illness during the post-incarceration reentry process? How are countries attempting to address these unique reentry barriers and challenges? How do prison abolition and criminal justice reform efforts impact mental health in justice systems? How did the COVID-19 pandemic complicate the growing intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system? How did countries respond during this time period?
The Special Issue invites all researchers and practitioners to share their work on the intersection of mental health and justice systems and how countries around the world are attempting to address it.
For consideration, please submit an extended abstract to the Special Issue Guest Editor, Steven Keener [steven.keener@cnu.edu], by 30 April 2025. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 31 May 2025. For those accepted for consideration, paper submissions will be due for preliminary review by 30 October 2025.
Dr. Steven T. Keener
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- mental health
- co-occurring disorders
- comparative perspectives
- diversion from incarceration
- decarceration
- abolition
- criminal justice reform
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