forensic psychiatry

د.و اي Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry:
It is a specialty of psychiatry , it encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry .
A forensic psychiatrist provide services (such as determination of competency to stand trial) to a
court of law to facilitate the adjudicative process.
Crime :
it an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it and for which
punishment is imposed upon conviction.
Causes of crime:

Genetic and physiological factors:
-Twin studies suggested that concordance rates were substantially greater in monozygotic
twin than in dizygotic twin.
-The way in which genetic factors might mediate the increased risk of criminal offending
could involve the hyperactivity and low IQ which are risk factors in children for
subsequent adult offending.
-Low brain 5-HT function has been associated with impulsive aggression which can be
either self or other directed.

Psychosocial factors:
-Individual factors:
1. Hyperactivity and impulsivity.
2. Low intelligence.
3. Child rearing : poor supervision and harsh discipline.
4. Parental conflict.
5. Criminal parents.
6. Large family size.
-Social factors:
1. Socio-economic deprivation.
2. Peer influences.
3. School influences.
4. Community influences.
Patterns of offending:

Peak age of offending is: 14 in girls; there is another peak around the menopause
17-18 in boys

50% of all indictable crimes are committed by people under the age of 21

The sex ratio of convicted men to women is approximately 5:1
Psychiatric issues in the assessment of offenders
Fitness to be interviewed
· factors to be considered include:
1. Does the detainee understand the police caution after it has been explained to
him or her?