Chapter Summary

• Where there is an overlap between mental disorder and criminal behaviour the principle of mens rea is not seen to be applicable. Thus, alongside criminal law there is mental health law for those cases where the offender is mentally disordered.
• The legal definition of mental health disorder has shifted and changed over time but can be seen as broadly including mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, personality disorders and learning disabilities.
• The proportion of people with a mental disorder who commit crimes is very small. People with mental disorder are, however, over-represented in prison populations.
• Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) is highly prevalent among offender populations and is predictive of high rates of recidivism, particularly when comorbid with substance use disorders.
• The introduction of the classification of Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) and the development of associated services brought about a good deal of debate within the literature. The same is true of the topic of the psychopathic individual.

Reading List

Anckarsäter, H., Radovic, S., Svennerlind, C., Höglund, P., & Radovic, F. (2009). Mental disorder is a cause of crime: The cornerstone of forensic psychiatry. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32, 342–347.

De Brito, S. A., & Hodgins, S. (2009). Antisocial personality disorder. In M. McMurran & R. Howard (Eds.), Personality, personality disorder and violence (pp.133–153). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Felthous, A. R., & Saβ, H. (2007). International handbook on psychopathic disorders and the law. Two volume set. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Hodgins, S., & Müller-Isberner, R. (Eds.). (2000). Violence, crime and mentally disordered offenders: Concepts and methods for effective treatment and prevention. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Lindsay, W. R., Taylor, J. L., & Sturmey, P. (Eds.). (2004). Offenders with developmental disabilities. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Lindsay, W. R., Hastings, R. P. & Beech, A. R. (Eds). (2011). Special issue: Forensic research in offenders with intellectual and developmental disabilities (part 1 & 2). Psychology, Crime, & Law, 17(1) & 17(2).

Lynam, D. R., & Gudonis, L. (2005). The development of psychopathy. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 381–407.

Monahan, J., & Steadman, H. J. (Eds.). (1994). Violence and mental disorder: Developments in risk assessment. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Sparta, S. N., & Koocher, G. P. (Eds.). (2006). Forensic mental health assessment of children and adolescents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Weblinks

Mental Health Act 2007: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/12/contents

Mentally Disordered Offenders: www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mentally-disordered-offenders.htm

Bob Hare:

http://www.hare.org/

http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/~gcpws/Hare/Biography/Hare_bio4.html

Study Questions

Open Questions

Why is Daniel M'Naghten an important figure in the history of mental health law?

What combination of factors is likely to be involved in explaining sex offending by those with an intellectual disability?

Why did the notion of a DSPD attract controversy?

Is psychopathy simply a form of personality disorder?