Criminal harassment by patients with mental disorders

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Criminology

Background:

• Criminal harassment is a serious offense.
• Understanding the prevalence and correlates of criminal harassment among individuals with mental disorders is crucial for effective intervention and public safety.
• Previous research has not clearly defined the subgroup engaging in such behavior or the role of substance abuse.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify if a specific subgroup of patients with mental disorders engages in criminal harassment.
• To investigate the potential role of substance abuse as a contributing factor in criminal harassment among this population.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional casenote study was conducted.
• The study examined incidents of harassment by 106 patients prior to admission to acute and forensic psychiatric wards.
• Data on criminal harassment and substance abuse were collected from patient records.

Main Results:

• Approximately 7.5% (8 out of 106) of patients exhibited behavior defined as criminal harassment before admission.
• Only one patient was formally charged under Section 264 of the Criminal Code for harassment.
• Alcohol abuse was identified as a cofactor in only one case.

Conclusions:

• The incidence of criminal harassment among individuals with mental disorders prior to psychiatric admission is relatively low.
• Criminal harassment is often not recognized or documented as such during the admission process.
• Despite the prevalence of substance abuse issues in this population, substance use was not found to be a significant risk factor for criminal harassment.