Mental Health and Criminal Justice: A New Zealand Guide

Book, Resources

Cover how we fail children who offend and what to do about it report

Digital edition freely available from the UC Research Repository (PDF)

Mental Health and Criminal Justice: A New Zealand Guide

Publication date:  July 2025

Author: Marozane Spamers

Contributors: Bethany Growns, Jessica Niurangi Maclean, James Mehigan, Linda Mussell, Robin Palmer, Jayson Ware and Debra Wilson.

Mental health is an urgent and growing concern within the criminal justice system. The high prevalence of mental health concerns among those interacting with the criminal justice system highlights the importance of developing and implementing evidence-based, informed and culturally competent mental health-related policy.

This is the first book in Aotearoa New Zealand that focuses on mental health policy and law at different stages of the criminal justice process. Bridging academic insight and practical application, the book takes a critical, rights-based and multidisciplinary approach, engaging with law, criminology, psychology and political science to explore the realities of how mental health intersects with justice in policy, practice and lived experience.