Homelessness and Psychiatric Admission Rates Through the Criminal Justice System

This very brief study illustrates how homeless and mentally ill people are over-represented in London prison populations, as are criminality and mental illness among the homeless. This study examines the relation between homelessness and admission rates from the criminal justice system. The conclusion of the authors is that homeless people are 17 times more likely to be admitted to hospital through the criminal justice system than those with a fixed address, and they believe that this is further evidence of social exclusion of people who are homeless and/or mentally ill. (HRDC-1999)

Publication Date: 
1999
Pages: 
1158
Volume: 
353
Journal Name: 
The Lancet