Bridging the Gap: Mental Health and Criminal Justice in Ireland: Evidence Based Strategies for Policy Reform, (Paperback)

The Irish forensic landscape is currently navigating a period of significant pressure. With the prison population frequently exceeding capacity and the mental health services struggling to provide adequate community-based interventions, the justice system has inadvertently become a "safety net of last resort." This is a role for which the courts and the Irish Prison Service were never designed. The reliance on custodial containment as a surrogate for psychiatric treatment has created a cycle of recidivism, where the underlying drivers of criminal behaviour-untreated illness, homelessness, and systemic social exclusion-remain unaddressed.<br>This book is anchored in the reality that current forensic policies, while evolving, remain tethered to traditional models of containment. To move forward, policymakers must synthesize the legal mandates of the <i>Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006</i> with the international obligations set forth by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The challenge is to create a pathway where justice and clinical care are not mutually exclusive, but rather operate in tandem to ensure public safety and individual recovery.<br>This book, published in 2026, is an completely updated version of a previously published work based on the author's Criminal Justice Masters dissertation, written in 2010.

• Bridging the Gap: Mental Health and Criminal Justice in Ireland: Evidence Based Strategies for Policy Reform, (Paperback)
• Author: Claire M Keogh
• ISBN: 9798185682395
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2026-07-05
• Page Count: 92