Consecutive series of individuals for whom psychiatric reports were requested by the courts in the context of criminal proceedings were studied in six countries: Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Swaziland, Switzerland, Thailand. A total sample of 96 cases was obtained. Careful study of the court records and psychiatric reports revealed three types of situation which could trigger a request for such a report; an ‘offence-oriented’ response where the offence itself is seen as indicative of mental morbidity, a ‘patient-oriented’ response in which the patient's previous contact with the mental health system serves as trigger and a ‘behaviour-oriented’ response in which the patient's disturbed behaviour in detention or in court arouses concern. The majority of the individuals were first offenders (60 per cent), while a similar proportion had had previous psychiatric treatment.

Descriptive information on the social control network for deviants in 6 countries with diverse social, economic and cultural backgrounds has been collected and compared. In each country it was possible to identify a sequence by which deviant behaviour is controlled and managed, consisting of 5 stages: discovery, official screening, disposal, release and after-care. It was also possible to make a clear distinction between the mental health systems and the criminal justice systems in each country. Differences were apparent in the extent of community involvement in the discovery stage and in the role of the primary level of health services. In some instances, differences were also apparent between rural and urban areas and between the way in which rich and poor people were handled. In all countries community after-care services are insufficient, particularly for offenders released from the prison system. This report is based on the first phase of a WHO collaborative study. It forms the basis for further work currently in progress which includes: (a) a review of laws to identify situations in which dangerousness is used as a criterion; (b) a study of consecutive cases of patients admitted against their will to mental hospitals and of individuals on whom the courts request psychiatric reports; and (c) a study of the reliability and reasons for dangerousness assessment made by various professional groups and based on a standard set of case histories.

The aim of this study, conducted at Nitichitawej Hospital (Hospital for the Forensic Psychiatric Services), Bangkok, Thailand, is to analyse the readmission rate of mentally ill male offenders who had been transferred to this hospital for assessment, treatment or detention from 1972 to 1986. Nitichitawej Hospital deals with forensic cases referred from police, courts, prosecutors and prisons from all over Thailand. Of the total of 2112 cases admitted during the sample period, there is evidence of only 22 cases being readmitted. The characteristics of this readmission group is considered and the reasons for this remarkably low readmission figure of around 1% are assessed.