The Relationship Between Mental Health and Crime

This chapter explores some of the key themes that will be covered and analysed in this volume. McNeil will firstly analyse the complexity of the relationship between mental health and crime. Secondly, the stigmatisation and labelling of people with mental health problems will be explored. It will be argued by McNeil that this is largely perpetuated by the majority of mass media and social media representations, which distort the public’s perceptions of those suffering from mental health problems as being more ‘dangerous’ and a greater ‘risk’ both to themselves and the public’s safety (leading to moral panics). Thirdly, a large body of research has also shown that people with mental health problems are far more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators, suffering repeated victimisation.