Topical theme of mentally disordered offenders. Reputation of Herschel Prins, Editors and Contributors.

First published in 1997, this volume’s purpose is to understand and clarify the nature of implicit theories currently held about the mentally disordered offender by respondents who represent a range of agencies: the general lay population, Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Social Services. The significance of this research rests on the premise that a greater understanding of professional and lay perspectives towards the mentally ill offender will help elucidate conflicting assumptions between agencies which, by their very nature, may be seriously disrupting the effective implementation of a number of key criminological and clinical policy initiatives involving the care and management of the mentally ill. In particular, consideration is given to the impact such ideological differences may have with regard to the establishment of community-based psychiatric care programmes, the policy of diverting mentally ill offenders away from the Criminal Justice System and into care by Health and Social Services, and the need to strengthen inter-agency co-operation.

The mentally disordered criminal is a public nightmare, and themanagement of these offenders can be driven as much by politicaland economic concerns as by scientific evidence and professionaljudgement within the fields of mental health and correctionservices. This book aims to provide a critical and focused reviewof knowledge and best practice in this field for mental health andcorrection professionals and for those concerned with policy andmanagement of services for these offenders. Mentally disordered offenders include offenders who suffer fromschizophrenia, major affective disorders, personality disorders(including psychopathy), brain damage, and mental retardation. Thetopic is of increasing importance because of the growth ofcommunity psychiatry, and the growing community programmes foroffenders, and also because of the growing pressures on thoseinstitutions which deal with offenders and care for the mentallydisordered or disabled. Professionals in these fields will welcomethis book which: * Provides a review of approaches to treatment, accessible to awide mental health and forensic readership * Relates treatment approaches to specific mental problems, andreviews evidence of effectiveness * features a truly international group of authors bringing togethera wide variety of approaches, scientific research, and practicalexperience of important programmes for treatment and prevention "Few recent texts provide both the depth and breadth necessary tounderstand the vexing behaviour of mentally disordered offenders.Drs Hodgins and Muller-Isberner, a remarkable pairing of researchand clinical expertise, have put together a highly readable andsuperb resource for anyone interested in this interface of seriousmental illness and criminal behavior. The authors of theconstituent chapters are leading authorities in their respectiveareas and have provided thoughtful commentary on the most recentinternational literature. This is a first-rate treatment of arapidly growing and fascinating field." Marvin Swartz, DukeUniversity, USA

The authors aim to provide practical guidance to enable practitioners in the various criminal justice, health and social care agencies to divert mentally disordered offenders from prosecution and custody and to help prevent re-offending.

The first comprehensive account of forensic nursing and its role within the wider professional team, the aim of this book is to provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the training needed to work with mentally disordered patients, as well as to examine the key characteristics of the forensic nursing role. An international group of contributors, from a wide range of disciplines, provides a well-rounded, comparative view of the forensic nursing profession. The chapters are a rich contribution of cross-cultural thinking on the many dilemmas and challenges facing nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care practitioners, working with specific client groups. Each contributor has utilised empirical data to analyse relevant issues, such as: professional standards; effectiveness of preparation for nurses working within secure environments; day to day and long term challenges facing nurses; clinical effectiveness; the dilemma of security versus practice; how forensic nursing differs from other kinds of nursing; and what forensic nurses can contribute to other mental health care disciplines. Examples of how research findings may be integrated into practice, will be of interest not only to forensic nurses, but also to significant sectors of the mental health care field.

In its narrowest sense, "mentally disordered offender" refers to the approximately twenty thousand persons per year in the United States who are institutionalized as not guilty by reason of insanity, incompetent to stand trial, and mentally disordered sex offenders, as well as those prisoners transferred to mental hospitals. The real importance of mentally disordered offenders, however, may not lie in this figure. Rather, it may reside in the symbolic role that mentally disordered offenders play for the rest of the legal system. The 3,140 persons residing in state institutions on an average day in 1978 as not guilty by reason of insanity (see Chapter 4), for example, are surely worthy of concern in their own right. But they represent only 1% of the 307,276 persons residing in state and federal prisons in the same period (U. S. Dept. of Justice, 1981). From a purely numeric point of view, the insanity defense truly is "much ado about little" (Pasewark & Pasewark, 1982). The central importance of understanding these persons, however, is that they serve a symbolic function in justifying the imprisonment of the other 99%. The insanity defense, as Stone (1975) has noted, is "the exception that proves the rule. " By exculpating a relatively few people from being criminally responsible for their behavior, the law inculpates all other law violators as liable for social sanction.

Essential reading for all professionals working in the psychiatric and criminal justice systems with mentally disordered offenders.

In the past forensic psychiatry has been a sub-speciality of general psychiatry without its own, separate identity. However, since the mid-1980s there has been a growing in terest in the application of community care principles to mentally disordered offenders. A new set of attitudes have developed which have enabled the mentally disordered offender to emerge from relative institutional obscurity to a much higher profile in the community. Although numerically small in relation to the general psychiatric population, forensic patients tend to attract the public' s attention by virtue of their greater propensity for troublesome behaviour. Such a group needs expert community support in order to maintain an accepta bie public face. Unfortunately these developments have outstripped the creation of training opportunities for community staff charged with their support and supervision. Most community practi tioners have had to learn 'on the job' with inadequate support and supervision from senior staff, who of ten have less direct experience of working with this client group than themselves. Just such a situation prompted the authors, in 1990, to establish a module on 'Working with Mentally Disordered Offenders in the Community' as part of an MA in Social W ork at the University of Reading. As the course developed it became clear that the topic and content had equal application to other community professionals working in the field.

This new edition provides readers with a fresh, updated guide to the latest developments in the social context, management, and treatment of offenders in mental health care.

In recent years mentally disordered offenders have attracted considerable attention in the media and there has been heated public debate as to the best treatment and prevention of re-offending. Simultaneously there has been a significant increase in the amount of research, specialist courses and training devoted to this particular, high profile area of mental health care. This is as a result of considerable public pressure to develop effective theory and practice for diagnosing and treating this patient group.A Sociology of the Mentally Disordered Offender provides a concise, and most importantly, accessible guide to the main theoretical issues from a sociological perspective as a counterbalance to the predominant medical model. Having established a theoretical framework through the exploration of topics such as the relationship between crime and mental disorder the authors look at the processes by which offenders are referred either to criminal justice or the mental health service system, their subsequent treatment and management, and the problem of re-offending. A final chapter looks at ways in which care and management of these patients may be effectively developed in the future.