Understanding the Preference for Incarceration Among Some Forensic Psychiatric Inpatients in Ontario

Some international jurisdictions route individuals for whom criminal responsibility is foreclosed because of mental disorder from the penal system into a forensic psychiatry regime. Such rerouting might be presumed preferable for such individuals, because it is intended to offer a humane alternative to incarceration and is often viewed by the public as an avenue for accused individuals to avoid accountability. Our clinical experience corroborates European findings that at least some individuals who have been placed into forensic psychiatric care would have preferred to remain in the penal system. We report on our preliminary qualitative investigation into the reasons why some forensic psychiatric inpatients in the Canadian province of Ontario would prefer to be incarcerated. Using a grounded theory methodology, we identify six thematic categories of reasons for this preference. Drawing on these themes, we propose that participants perceive inpatient forensic psychiatric detention as posing a greater threat to personal identity than incarceration as well as feel despair associated with the perceived futility of resisting identity-shaping pressures in this environment. Participants' concerns re-emphasize the clinical challenge, but also the importance, of providers' supporting patients to associate hope rather than harm with the aim of personal transformation through inpatient forensic psychiatric care.