Attitudes and beliefs of professionals within the English and Welsh criminal justice system towards people with mental health conditions: a systematic review
Year: 2025
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Compared to the general population, a higher prevalence of people with mental health conditions are seen throughout the Criminal Justice System (CJS). This systematic review aims to explore the attitudes and beliefs of professionals within the English and Welsh CJS towards people with mental health conditions, including beliefs about specific diagnoses and symptoms. The review identified 14 quantitative papers from England and Wales. Research was narratively synthesised in relation to groups of police staff, prison staff, probation staff and legal staff. In police staff, the primary evidence related to attitudes towards general mental health conditions and schizophrenia/psychosis whereas in probation and prison staff most evidence related to attitudes towards personality disorder and self-harm. There was no evidence to suggest that any of these groups demonstrated grossly different attitudes towards mental health conditions compared to those expressed by other populations; however, robust comparisons were limited by weak methodological quality and breadth of the research. The review highlights that more research is required to better understand attitudes and beliefs towards people with mental health conditions. The paper makes various suggestions for the improvement of methodological quality in primary research.
Source: Psychology Crime and Law
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4416212311