Last month, the Justice Center, with support from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), U.S. Department of Justice, worked with Virginia state officials to convene a group of victim advocates, department of mental health staff, legislative staff, and others to discuss responses to victims of crimes committed by people with mental illnesses. This meeting, the first of its kind that has been convened in Virginia at the state level, followed a meeting that Justice Center and Kansas officials organized in May on this topic.

The purpose of these meetings was to discuss strategies for protecting victims’ rights in cases in which individuals who commit crimes are transferred to the custody of state mental health systems because they have been found not guilty by reason of insanity or require treatment to restore their competency to stand trial. There is often confusion about what types of information victims can access in these cases given confidentiality regulations related to mental health treatment. Consequently, these victims may not be notified or be allowed to participate in their case in ways they would have if the person who committed the crime had been sent to jail or prison.

Dr. James Reinhard, Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS), underscored a number of important reasons for those working within departments of mental health to consider this issue. “Good clinicians know that working with an individual to help them understand the impact that any crime has had on victims is an important part of treatment, recovery and successful community integration,” he said. “Also, by focusing on issues related to crime victims, we improve the ability of mental health systems to deliver trauma-informed care to clients who have previously been victimized.”

The Justice Center organized the meeting in Virginia with DMHMRSAS and the Virginia Network for Victims and Witnesses of Crime, Inc., a state association that offers training and materials to victim advocates and victims.

“This is an issue we are committed to exploring further in Kansas in partnership with mental health and criminal justice leaders, recognizing that improving responses to this group of victims will entail ongoing cross-training and collaboration among prosecutors, mental health staff, victim advocates, and victims,” said Rep. Colloton.

Dr. Rick Gowdy, Director of Forensic Services for the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), also presented at the Kansas meeting, detailing steps taken in Missouri to formalize how victims are identified and notified by the DMH about particular changes in cases involving individuals found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Dr. Gowdy served as a member of the planning group on a forthcoming OVC and Justice Center publication Responding to People Who Have Been Victimized by Individuals with Mental Illnesses. Responding, which will be released this summer, highlights challenges to serving this group of victims and also proposes policies and practices for criminal justice and mental health officials to consider implementing to improve responses to this group of crime victims. For more information on the Justice Center’s work on victims’ rights issues, please see the Justice Center’s Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project website, or contact Elizabeth Dodd at edodd@csg.org or (646) 383-5749.

• New resource available: The Criminalization of Mental Illness: Crisis and Opportunity for the Justice System
• Save the date: 9/21/08 - 9/24/08 NASMHPD's 2008 Forensic Division Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA

Town Talk (LA) - Officers complete intervention training
7/30/08 - "A number of officers from area police departments and sheriff’s offices have completed a 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team training at Alexandria’s Volunteers of America. CIT officers are a specially trained group of law enforcement personnel who respond to mental-health patients who are in crisis…”

Port Clinton News Herald (OH) - Conestoga project offers treatment program
7/29/08 - “The ‘Intervention Court’ will refer defendants with active alcoholism, addiction and/or mental illness issues to intensive treatment programming and provide weekly hearings to ensure participants comply with the program, according to court officials.”

Courier Press (IN) - Police crisis team training put to test
7/28/08 - “Not two hours into his first shift back from a weeklong training session on dealing with subjects suffering from mental illness, Evansville Police Department officer Chris Goergen found himself putting his new skills to use… Thanks to the training, Goergen not only recognized the signs of mental illness, but also he knew how best to deal with them.”

Chico Enterprise Record (CA) - Meeting to help police interact with mentally ill people
7/23/08 - “A public meeting is planned Aug. 7 to discuss creating a program to improve how police interact with people who are mentally ill… At the heart of the model is training police officers to recognize when someone is having a mental-health crisis and to respond appropriately.”

Houston Chronicle (TX) - Finding escape behind bars
7/21/08 - “When the mentally ill homeless leave jail — and leave behind its mental health care staff — many stop taking medication and end up on the street again. Treatment resumes only when they commit a crime and return to jail or their dementia overwhelms them and they are brought to an emergency psychiatric center.”

Idaho Statesman (ID) - Ada mental health court offers an alternative to prison
7/17/08 - “Judge Michael McLaughlin set up Ada County’s version on orders of the state Supreme Court in 2005.”

Kane County Chronicle (IL) - Where mentally ill find help
7/15/08 - “When mentally ill defendants enter the court system, it could lead to a chance for diagnosis and much-needed treatment. For more than 30 years, the Kane County Diagnostic Center has given evaluations and treatment recommendations to those in the court system, either at an attorneys request or by a judges order.”

Caller-Times (TX) - Team targets mental health
7/13/08 - “A new team of experts is tackling mental health emergencies in Nueces County. Nueces County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center created the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team in April as a way to offer mental health services to residents who need immediate help.”

Statesman Journal (OR) - Officers now educated in mental illness
7/05/08 - “Within the past year the number of hours of mental health training that Oregon law enforcement officers receive in basic police academy has increased sixfold — indicating that the need for the training is apparent.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) - Local counties to implement mental health courts
6/30/08 - “Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties were approved in April for state grants to create mental health courts.”

The Daily Journal (NJ) - Stepping up for change: Cumberland County tackles mental illness in community and jail
6/26/08 - “Cumberland County participated in a 1-day workshop for the development of integrated strategies to effectively identify and respond to the needs of justice-involved adults with mental illness and co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.”

Morning News (SC) - Officials: High number of mentally ill strain system
6/21/08 - “With limited beds available for the mentally ill in South Carolina, many suffering from the diseases are forced into jail instead of receiving treatment.”