The Role of the Psychiatrist in Dangerous Offender Hearings

Abstract

The current Canadian legislation regarding dangerous offenders is reviewed, with specific emphasis on the role of the required psychiatric testimony. It is suggested that, although this legislation as it is currently formulated could be viewed as an attempt to broaden the insanity defence, and permit the diversion of mentally ill offenders from a punitive to a therapeutic milieu, it enables the preventive detention of recidivist offenders. Some fundamental ethical issues which follow from this are identified, together with the issues which have dominated expert testimony in hearings held in British Columbia during the past 13 years.

Criteria for Involuntary Hospitalisation

“…A controversial issue in the field of mental health in recent years has been that of mental health legislation. Debate has taken place about the purposes [1][2][3] and effectiveness [4][5][6] of legislation dealing with compulsory hospitalisation and treatment of psychiatric patients. Media reports of squalid living conditions, suicides and armed ex-psychiatric patients being shot by police have fuelled the argument.…”

Criteria for involuntary hospitalisation

“…A controversial issue in the field of mental health in recent years has been that of mental health legislation. Debate has taken place about the purposes [1–3] and effectiveness [4–6] of legislation dealing with compulsory hospitalisation and treatment of psychiatric patients. Media reports of squalid living conditions, suicides and armed ex‐psychiatric patients being shot by police have fuelled the argument.…”