[Young persons sentenced to psychiatric treatment in Copenhagen]

The material consisted of 87 persons given a sentence in the years 1978 to 1987. Twenty-seven were under 23 years. There was no significant difference in the number of persons sentenced each year in the ten year period. The age of the patients was between 16 and 29 years with the median age being nearly 25 years. Most of the patients had a psychosis. The youngest group (less than 23 years) had a greater proportion of non-psychotic illness. Most of the patients were males. They had committed serious crimes and were sentenced to treatment in psychiatric hospitals with contact to a probation officer during out-patient treatment. Most of the patients were treated with neuroleptics, whereas psychotherapy, education and work-training were rare. The ability to attend out-patient treatment was generally low, and most of the patients were taken in for hospital treatment, according to the requirements of the sentence, because they did not keep their appointments. In order to increase the quality of the treatment offered it is recommended that special forensic psychiatric departments are established. This has taken place in the Copenhagen mental health hospital in 1989.