In the last decade telepsychiatry -the use of telecommunications technologies to deliver psychiatric services from a distance -has been increasingly utilised in many areas of mental healthcare. Since the review by Khalifa and colleagues in 2007 the body of literature relevant to the forensic applications of telepsychiatry has grown substantially, albeit not by much in the United Kingdom.In the current review we aim to provide an update summary of the literature published since 2007 to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of increasing telepsychiatry utilisation in forensic practice.The literature reviewed provides some encouraging evidence that telepsychiatry is a reliable, effective and highly acceptable method for delivering mental healthcare in forensic settings. There are also a number of papers that indicate the use of telepsychiatry may be cost effective for health providers in the longer term.Further research is required to consider the potential legal and ethical implications of using telepsychiatry in forensic settings.

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Forensic telepsychiatry remains in its infancy in the United Kingdom. This article sets out to describe how it can be used within a community forensic service, and the future challenges ahead in the United Kingdom. It looks at relevant academic, governmental, and legal resources and is designed as a scholarly reflection by clinicians rather than as a formal literature review.

Staff from one National Health Service (NHS) Trust in England completed an online survey (N = 590) about their experience of intrusive behaviours from patients. These experiences were categorised into either stalking or harassment and compared in terms of staff and patient characteristics, types of intrusions, and aftermath. Overall, 150 were classified as being stalked (25.4%) and 172 harassed (29.2%). There were no differences in staff characteristics between the two groups. Staff from forensic services and nursing staff were particularly susceptible to these intrusions which took many forms. Respondents perceived a range of causes for the stalking and harassment, the most common being to gain power and control/to scare. It was rare for legal sanctions to be brought against the patient. Our findings reinforce the need for service providers to have policies supported with preventative measures, education and a robust process for addressing stalking so that these measures are embedded in practice in a way that supports staff working with patients.Furthermore, service providers should be challenged on what steps they have taken to prevent, and monitor, such behaviour.