Search results for ‘Subject term:"mentally disordered offenders"’ Sort:
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Social work with offenders in special hospitals and forensic units
- Author:
- -
- Journal article citation:
- Professional Social Work, January 1994, p.13.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Brief notes highlighting key points of BASW's policy on social work's contribution to the institutional care of offenders who have mental disorders.
Experience of collaborative research practice in forensic mental health
- Authors:
- ADAMS Jean Sandra, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Forensic Practice, 11(4), November 2009, pp.4-14.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
The aim of this paper is to describe and explore the experiences of a group of nurses and nurse researchers working as members of a multidisciplinary international research team on the European Union funded COMSKILLS project (Developing Community Living Skills in Offender Groups), which continued the validation of the Behavioural Status Index (BEST Index) in planning and delivering care to mentally disordered offenders. The research study took place over a 3 year period and involved medium and high security hospitals and clinics in the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, England and Scotland. The paper covers ethical matters, staff involvement and the long-term nature of the study, competency criteria for staff, management and organisational issues such as resources, working with the subjects of the research and international partnership and cultural differences, and reflections on communication, consistency throughout the programme, Agenda for Change issues, research outcomes, rewards and incentives, and personal and practice ramifications.
Theorising the puzzle that is Harold Shipman
- Authors:
- SOOTHILL Keith, WILSON David
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), December 2005, pp.685-698.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Despite a lengthy inquiry, why the serial killer, Harold Shipman, committed his crimes remains a puzzle. However, the issue still needs to be confronted. This article tries to move beyond the usual individualistic explanations of serial killing towards a wider analysis that embraces a more structural approach whereby we can begin to understand the meaning of serial killing at a societal level. Sadly, we argue that the actions of serial killers can be used to identify social breakdowns.
The prevalence of early onset alcohol abuse in mentally disordered offenders
- Authors:
- LUMSDEN John, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), December 2005, pp.651-659.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The alcohol consumption histories of 563 male patients resident at Broadmoor Hospital over the period 1997–2002 were ascertained from inspection of patients' case files. Information regarding alcohol consumption was obtained from patients' forensic and psychiatric reports and, for a sub-set of the sample (n = 101), from reports of drug and alcohol assessments. Patients were grouped according to whether or not they had abused alcohol (consumed greater than 50 units per week) and, if so, by age of onset of their alcohol abuse: prior to age 19, 19–21, or over 21 years. Forensic and psychiatric reports indicated that 47.4% of the sample had abused alcohol and 22.0% started to abuse before the age of 19. The 70.3% of patients who underwent drug and alcohol assessment were found to have abused alcohol and 48.5% had abused alcohol under the age of 19. These findings underline the high prevalence of early onset alcohol abuse among high-security mentally disordered offenders, and indicate the need for studies that address the intervening variables that mediate the link between teenage alcohol abuse and adult antisocial behaviour.
Back from the abyss
- Author:
- APPLETON Philip
- Journal article citation:
- Professional Social Work, February 2012, pp.12-13.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Using the case of one man who was admitted to a high secure hospital and the support given to him, the author explores the role of the forensic social worker. The man was referred for an assessment by a high secure hospital whilst in prison for robbery, after he assaulted a prison officer with a razor blade. The case highlights the importance of the social workers assessment, the information and support given to the family, and the role of the supervision social worker when discharged.
The use of the care programme approach in perpetrators of homicide
- Authors:
- SWINSON Nicola, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 21(5), October 2010, pp.649-659.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The care programme approach (CPA) was introduced to improve coordination of care for people with severe mental illness. There are 2 levels of CPA: standard and enhanced. The aim of this study was to establish the proportion of perpetrators of homicide in contact with mental health services receiving care under enhanced CPA and to examine the quality of care received. The method involved a national clinical survey of homicide perpetrators in contact with mental health services in England and Wales. The results were as follows: of 380 homicide perpetrators in recent contact with services, 264 (69%) were not receiving care under enhanced CPA, including 26 (49%) with severe mental illness and previous violence. Of 107 patients under enhanced CPA, 35 (37%) were non-compliant and 40 (42%) had disengaged from services at the time of the offence; services had attempted to re-establish compliance in 10 cases and contact in 17 cases (43%). The article concludes that all high-risk patients should be supervised under enhanced CPA and that risk assessment becomes an integral part of every CPA review.
Social supervision, ethics and risk: an evaluation of how ethical frameworks might be applied within the social supervision process
- Author:
- DIXON Jeremy
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 40(8), December 2010, pp.2398-2413.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Service users subject to section 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983 come under the scrutiny of both the mental health and the criminal justice systems. Much of the sociological literature in this area focuses on the growth of risk-related practices in which risk management is arguably displacing more traditional notions of care. The article outlines how sociological views about risk have been applied to both mental health and criminal justice and considers what effect this might have on mentally disordered offenders. The emphasis on risk in legislation, policy and guidance is then examined. It is argued that social workers face competing demands and that ethical frameworks should be applied in order to consider right action. Kantian, utilitarian and virtue ethics are then explored and consideration is given as to how social workers can apply such constructs to current risk management practices. Finally, literature focusing on the views of service users subject to section 41 is explored in relation to their understanding of risk. The author concludes that a utilitarian position is justified in work with this group of service users but that this position needs to be applied cautiously and that social workers need to balance a utilitarian framework against an awareness of service user autonomy.
Housing-related support and the needs of mentally disordered offenders
- Author:
- QUINNEY Lee
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 13(2), May 2010, pp.14-19.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Housing-related support funded by Supporting People has developed in line with traditional service areas relating to criminal justice, health and social care. This means that opportunities for developing integrated services geared to meeting the needs of mentally disordered offenders have been limited. Using a case study to explore service needs, a rethink of commissioning and support roles is recommended for forensic mental health services.
The growing admissibility of expert testimony by clinical social workers on competence to stand trial
- Author:
- SIEGEL David M.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work: A journal of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 53(2), April 2008, pp.153-163.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Expert testimony by clinical social workers concerning a criminal defendant's competence to stand trial has increasingly been admitted in certain state courts in the US over the past two decades, yet most state laws still require that court-appointed competence evaluators be psychiatrists or psychologists. Pressure to admit social workers' testimony will come from social workers' increasing role in diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. The evolution of forensic assessment instruments that permits greater transparency in competence evaluation and facilitates training, and the standardization of forensic evaluation in general, support greater use of clinical social workers as competence evaluators. A list of proposed qualifications for competence evaluators is developed from recent criticism of evaluation shortcomings, and the article describes how social workers could help address these problems. Through review of representative case precedents, comparison of educational and credentialing practices of clinical social workers and psychologists, and assessment of limited quality data on forensic assessments across disciplines, the article proposes that the principal determinant of qualifications to testify as a competence expert should be advanced training, experience, and credentialing in the specific skills related to competence evaluation rather than professional designation.
Absconding from secure units: a review and description of an 'absconding pack' - implications for wider use
- Author:
- NICHOLS Trisha
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice, 2(2), September 2007, pp.22-27.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This article attempts to highlight statistics on absconsion from secure hospitals, including frequency and consequences, and impact of negative media coverage and various reviews, inquiries and proposed recommendations, which have resulted in the proposed reforms of the Mental Health Act 1983. The article then outlines work conducted by the social work department at Chadwick Lodge and Eaglestone View (medium secure hospitals) in the development of an 'absconsion pack'. This development provides and example of safe practice through its use of collaborative inter-professional and multidisciplinary team working, resulting in a procedure that should reduce the risks in the event of an absconsion from a medium secure hospital. The wider implications of the work are discussed.