Premium
Outcome of patients rehabilitated through a New Zealand forensic psychiatry service: a 7.5 year retrospective study
Author(s) -
Simpson Alexander I. F.,
Jones Roland M.,
Evans Ceri,
McKenna Brian
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.740
Subject(s) - forensic science , forensic psychiatry , assertive community treatment , medicine , prison , retrospective cohort study , psychiatry , ethnic group , mental health , family medicine , mental illness , psychology , surgery , criminology , sociology , anthropology , veterinary medicine
This paper describes a 7.5 year retrospective study of all patients discharged from inpatient forensic services to forensic community team (FCT) follow‐up from the Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatry Service. Patients' files were studied for clinical, criminal, and risk data, type of service delivered, and final level of function achieved in the community. Rearrest, re‐hospitalization, and reimprisonment data were obtained from clinical, court, and prison records. 105 patients were included. The most common diagnosis was a psychotic disorder, and index offending behaviour was typically violent. The median period of inpatient stay was 36 months and mean subsequent FCT follow‐up 21.7 months (SD 17.8). The majority of patients were from Maori and Pacific Island ethnic groups. At the end of the study, half were in independent living, half were in some form of employment, and 19% were readmitted to a forensic hospital. One patient was rearrested but not reimprisoned whilst under forensic community team care. However, 9 of the 48 who were discharged to general mental health services were rearrested and 5 reimprisoned. Only two offences were as serious as the original index offence. Broad based assertive, mandated, and committed forensic rehabilitation can achieve high quality outcomes. These levels of function may not be sustained under less assertive care. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.