Criminal responsibility evaluations: Benchmarking in different countries

Pouls, Claudia; Jeandarme, Inge; Al-Taiar, H.; Bradford, John M. W.; Canton, Wim; Kristiansson, Marianne; Thibaut, Florence; Verreyt, Veerle; Konrad, Norbert

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2022.101775

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Generalizing the results of the present study to other parts of the world must be done with certain caution due to differences in legislation. However, since the legal concept of SMD shares central traits with many other western countries to a considerable extent (e.g., Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity), these results can also be informative in an international context ( 44 , 45 ).…”

Section: Limitations and Further Directionsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In addition, the forensic professionals use different methods such as interviews, tests, and structured instruments within their investigation to increase the accuracy of the SMD assessment. Hence, the amount of information on which the FPIs are based is extensive and generally rich in detail, making them (at least in principle) the most comprehensive kind of psychiatric assessment possible in Sweden (for more information on the Swedish legislation, see 9 , 44 , regarding FPI, see 45 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lethal and severe violence: Characterizing Swedish female offenders with and without a severe mental disorder

et al. 2023

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AimIn studies on lethal and severe violence, male offenders have historically been in focus while female offenders, in comparison, have often been excluded. In this study, we aimed to characterize female violent offenders and compared those with and without a severe mental disorder (SMD).MethodAll females charged with lethal or attempted lethal violence, who had undergone forensic psychiatric investigations (FPI) in Sweden between 2000 and 2014, constituting the two groups SMD (n = 84) and no SMD (n = 91), were included. Information from their FPI reports and court verdicts was collected regarding background and demographics, mental health, substance use, and crime characteristics.ResultsOverall, both groups were often unemployed, previously victimized within close relations, had psychiatric health issues, and more than half of them had previously attempted suicide. Specifically, the SMD group more often had psychotic disorders, had attempted homicide-suicide (at the time of the crime), and had children or friends/acquaintances as victims. The no-SMD group more often manifested patterns of anxiety, personality disorders, and substance use disorders compared to the SMD group. The no-SMD group also differed from the SMD group by more often having a previous criminal record, being charged with lethal index violence, having male adult intimate partners/ex-intimate partners as victims who had abused the offender, and both offender and victim had more often been under the influence of a substance. ConclusionFemale offenders of lethal and severe violence had a high prevalence of previous violent victimization which should be considered in forensic assessment and treatment regardless of the offender’s SMD status. However, more focus on substance use disorders and intimate partner relations appears relevant for females without an SMD. Contrary to that, early interventions regarding psychotic processes are probably a helpful preventive measure for females with an SMD. In sum, the heterogeneity of female offenders of lethal and severe violence emphasizes the necessity of developing nuanced interventions to meet their rehabilitative needs as well as the requirements of community protection.

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Section: Limitations and Further Directionsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lethal and severe violence: Characterizing Swedish female offenders with and without a severe mental disorder

et al. 2023

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“…Legal insanity is based on cognitive and/or volitional impairment according to countries. There is a general agreement that a diagnosis of schizophrenia indicates a lack of accountability, whereas opinions differ among legal frameworks regarding personality disorders, psychopathy, and substance use disorders ( 12 ). Current criminal justice systems shift their focus from punishment to prevention via medical treatments for these MDO ( 13 , 14 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Court-ordered inpatient psychiatric care in Switzerland: determinants of length of stay and treatment outcome

Weber,

Morier,

Lesaffre

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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IntroductionIn several European countries, offenders with decreased or abolished responsibility and high risk of recidivism due to long-lasting mental disorders are compulsory admitted for court-ordered treatments (COT) that take place in high and medium-security hospitals. As a rule, length of stay in these structures is very long implying major restrictions for the inmate and high societal cost. Despite intensive research, the predictors of length of stay and treatment outcome in long stay forensic services is still matter of debate.MethodsWe report here a detailed analysis of the demographic, psychiatric and offense predictors of length of stay and discharge locations of 204 mentally disordered offenders convicted to COT in a new medium-security forensic psychiatry clinic in Geneva, Switzerland. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were performed to determine time to release. Length of stay was predicted by Cox regressions, and discharge locations were predicted by multinomial logistic regressions.ResultsThe typical inpatient was a 35-age single male re-offender, submitted to COT after a conviction for physical violence (78.9%) or property violation (64.2%), with drug trafficking (52.9%), in relation to psychotic (67.2%), antisocial or borderline personality disorder (35.8%) with comorbid substance use disorders (60.3%). Sex offenses were found in 24.5% of cases and were associated with Cluster B personality disorders. The median length of stay was of 2.5 years and was independent of demographic variables, severity of crime recidivism and psychiatric diagnosis. Longer COT at admission, and type of offense (in particular drug traffic and sexual violence) predicted longer stays. At discharge, 32.8% of cases were transferred to sheltered educational housing, 23.1% to open low-security wards, while 30.6% returned to regular prisons and 9.7% to their country of origin.DiscussionYounger age and conviction for property violation rather than physical violence increased the chances to be discharged to sheltered educational housing. Longer COT at admission, personality disorders, and conviction for sexual offense increased the risk to return to prison. These data suggest that sex offenses determine not only longer stays under COT but also drastically decreases the chance of freedom for inmates with Cluster B personality disorders.

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