Impact of restrictive civil commitment procedures on a prison psychiatric service.
To assess the impact of restrictive civil commitment procedures, the authors studied the population of a prison psychiatric unit before and after the procedures were implemented. Their findings suggest that when the community finds it difficult to use the alternative of involuntary hospitalization, arrest and imprisonment are used to remove mentally ill people from the community.
D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003415:Crime; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011330:Prisons; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014754:Violence