Mental illness, crime, and violence: Risk, context, and social control

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o In this article, I review theory and research on the relationship between mental illness, crime, and violence. I begin by discussing the larger backdrop of deinstitutionalization of mental illness and its consequences for the criminal justice system in both individual and macro-level terms. I then compare public perceptions of dangerousness associated with mental illness with individual-level studies that assess the risk of violence and criminal behavior among those with mental illness. I review key findings as to the role of certain psychotic symptoms, social demographic characteristics, and the context in which violence unfolds. Finally, I discuss recent efforts at managing persons with mental illness who violate the law, focusing on the limitations of diversionary programs.