Academics

PUBA 201H: Making and Unmaking a Criminal: The Intersection of Criminal Justice and Health Law and Policy (3 credits)

Professor John Rubin and Jane Perkins, Esq. 
Making Connections: Social and Behavioral Sciences (SS), North Atlantic World (NA) 

While having a mental health diagnosis does not make a person more likely to commit a crime, an overwhelming number of people involved in the criminal justice system have unmet health, mental health, and substance use needs. 

The program would enable students to: 

• Understand the ways in which the availability of health care can “make or unmake a criminal” 

• Assess the impediments to providing care in the usually siloed criminal and mental health systems 

• Identify opportunities for better coordination that would improve outcomes for justice-involved and potentially justice-involved people 

• Enhance their research and analytical skills, communication and presentation abilities, and capacity for collaboration with others