More than one-third-and in some studies more than two-thirds-of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have a lifetime history of arrest. For the first time, a single book examines the common behaviors, contexts, and decisions that lead to misdemeanor arrests.

Entangled: How People With Serious Mental Illness Get Caught in Misdemeanor Systems draws on data from a mixed-method, multisite study to analyze how people with SMI become involved with the criminal legal system. It offers a historical perspective on how shifts in social, mental health, and criminal legal system policies have contributed to current challenges. It also provides insight into the factors behind some of the charges most common among people with SMI, including criminal trespass, shoplifting, obstruction and resisting arrest, and misdemeanor assault.

Solution-oriented at its core, this book reviews necessary reforms and policy advances in the criminal legal system and the mental health crisis response system, advocating for a multisystem approach that will help individuals with mental illness embrace a life of recovery, hope, empowerment, and integration.