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Chapter 1 - Violence and Mental Disorder

The Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2024

By
Jeremy W. Coid
Edited by
Mary Davoren  and
Harry G. Kennedy
Mary Davoren
Affiliation:
Broadmoor Hospital and West London NHS Trust
Harry G. Kennedy
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin
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Summary

The aims of this chapter are firstly to help trainees refine forensic assessments of offender patients so they can give advice to courts in determining an offender’s legal responsibility for a criminal act. Secondly, the chapter aims to help illuminate the motivation for violent offending and the pathways to violence. This is not only necessary for giving expert evidence in courts but is also essential in choosing the treatment that should be offered to a patient and the level of security required in which to deliver treatment. In some cases it may be relevant to the likelihood of a successful response to treatment. Thirdly, associations between criminal behaviour and mental disorder may be highly important in the assessment of risk of future offending. Finally, and most importantly, a good forensic assessment should concentrate on the future management and prevention of further violence. Although forensic psychiatrists should be experts in the assessment of violence among people with mental disorder, it is essential to develop expertise with those who have no evidence of mental disorder. Paradoxically, these cases are often the most challenging to understand and evaluate.

Keywords

Forensic psychiatryviolenceepidemiologyassessmentexpertisepsychosis
Type
Chapter
Information
Seminars in Forensic Psychiatry , pp. 3 - 35
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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