NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOPATHY: STUDY ON A SAMPLE OF BELGIAN FORENSIC PATIENTS

Purpose Criteria to determine in which level of security forensic patients should receive treatment are currently non-existent in Belgium. Research regarding the assessment of security level is minimal and few instruments are available. The DUNDRUM toolkit is a structured clinical judgement instrument that can be used to provide support when determining security level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability and validity of the DUNDRUM-1 in Flanders. Design/methodology/approach The DUNDRUM-1 was scored for 50 male patients admitted at the forensic units in the public psychiatric hospital Rekem. Some files were rated by three researchers who were blind to participants’ security status, resulting in 33 double measurements. Findings Almost all files (96 per cent) contained enough information to score the DUNDRUM-1. Average DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores were concordant with a medium security profile. No difference was found between the current security levels and the DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores. Inter-rater reliability was excellent for the DUNDRUM-1 final judgement scores. On item level, all items had excellent to good inter-rater reliability with the exception of one item institutional behaviour which had an average inter-rater reliability. Practical implications The DUNDRUM-1 can be a useful tool in Flemish forensic settings. It has good psychometric properties. More research is needed to investigate the relationship between DUNDRUM-1 scores and security level decisions by the courts. Originality/value This is the first study that investigated the applicability of the DUNDRUM-1 in a Belgian setting, also a relative large number of repeated measurements were available to investigate the inter-rater reliability of the DUNDRUM-1.

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Patient versus informant reports of personality disorders in forensic patients

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology ◽

10.1080/14789949.2010.511242 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 52-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Marije Keulen-de-Vos ◽

David P. Bernstein ◽

Lee Anna Clark ◽

Arnoud Arntz ◽

Tanja P.C. Lucker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorders ◽

Forensic Patients

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Electronic monitoring of forensic patients

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.205.6.500a ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 205 (6) ◽

pp. 500-501 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eleanor Watson ◽

Purvesh Madhani ◽

Shari Mysorekar ◽

Kirsty Sollitt

Keyword(s):

Electronic Monitoring ◽

Forensic Patients

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Maine proposals aim to house former forensic patients with MI

Mental Health Weekly ◽

10.1002/mhw.31112 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (27) ◽

pp. 5-6

Author(s):

Valerie A. Canady

Keyword(s):

Forensic Patients

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Forensic Patients in the Healthcare Setting

Advanced Practice and Leadership in Radiology Nursing ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-32679-1_25 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 273-281

Author(s):

Debra S. Holbrook

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Setting ◽

Forensic Patients

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Workload implications of the proposed new Mental Health Act – an audit

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/s0955603600001410 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 27 (02) ◽

pp. 54-57

Author(s):

Sean Whyte ◽

Clive Meux

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Clinical Care ◽

White Paper ◽

Law Reform ◽

Clinical Implications ◽

Health Law ◽

Forensic Patients ◽

Mental Health Act ◽

The Government ◽

Time Required

Aims and Method To estimate specific time and resource implications for professionals, if proposed changes to the Mental Health Act 1983 (England & Wales) in the Government's white paper were to be implemented unchanged. An audit of time spent on current procedures was extrapolated. Results The amount of time required to comply with the Act will rise substantially (by 27% overall). Social workers and independent doctors will spend 30% and 207% more time respectively, complying with the Act, but psychiatrists providing clinical care to forensic patients should be largely unaffected. Clinical Implications If the Government presses ahead with its plans for mental health law reform as currently proposed, extra resources will be required to provide additional social work and independent medical time – or other services for patients will suffer.

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Forensic care in Germany

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.051 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S61-S61

Author(s):

H. Dressing ◽

H.J. Salize

Keyword(s):

Psychiatric Hospital ◽

Psychiatric Hospitals ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Mentally Ill Offenders ◽

Legal Regulations ◽

Forensic Patients ◽

Penal Law ◽

Forensic Psychiatric ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Legal Frameworks

Although the idea that offenders suffering from a mental disorder must primarily be considered as ill and should therefore be exempted from punishment is of considerable antiquity legal frameworks and key concepts, which are applied in this field, differ widely in European Union member States. The respective legal regulations and epidemiological data of Germany will be presented.In German penal law the question of the guilt of an offender is of central significance. Legal regulations on the placement and treatment of mentally ill offenders in a forensic psychiatric hospital are subsumed under the section “Measures on improvement and safety”. Section 63 of the German penal law provides for the temporally unlimited commitment to a forensic- psychiatric hospital.In accordance with section 64 of the German penal law addicted offenders can be committed to a detoxification center for a period of up to two years. The available epidemiological data show a clear increase in the admissions to forensic psychiatric hospitals and to detoxification centers since beginnings of the 1990s. Recently the German parliament passed a new law. The aim of the new law is to strengthen patients’ rights and to diminish the number of forensic patients.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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