Special probation for prisoners with mental illness cuts recidivism - Each year, around 2 million people identified as having mental illness are jailed in the U.S. Those that were supervised on specialty probation were nearly 3 x less inclined to go back to jail within 2 yrs after their release than those on regular probation, researchers reported in JAMA Psychiatry tablet dose . Positive support is apparently key, with specialty probation officers operating as part counselor and part cop, stated lead author Jennifer Skeem, professor of public welfare and general public policy in the University of California at Berkeley. Under area of expertise mental wellness probation, officers possess smaller caseloads and trained in mental disease.