Remanding Mentally Disordered Women
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455059404100111 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
36
s ~’i~f3~7Y~~4~~’~i9~ ~ ~ ~ag d~
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’~’~’I
The
reported
shortfall
was
most
noticeable
on
’assessing
dangerousness’,
’assessing
risk
of
self-harm’
and
’interviewing
skills’.
Fifty
per
cent
of
respondents
who
had
undertaken
their
basic
training
in
the
last
four
years
reported
training
on
ethnic
differences
and
mental
disorder
but
those
trained
longer
ago
reported
decreasingly
little
training
of
this
nature.
Even
fewer
respondents
reported
training
on
gender
differences.
The
majority
of
respondents
had
received
no
training
on
the
Mental
Health
Act
1983.
No
more
than
a
quarter
of
respondents
reported
any
training
on
the
use
of
medication
or
its
side
effects.
As
a
result
of
their
research,
the
researchers
recommend
that
gap-filling
training
should
be
provided
as
a
matter
of
urgency.
CCETSW
is
to
prepare
new
guidance
on
mental
health
training
on
DipSW
courses.
Trammg for
Work
wath
Mentally
Disordered
Offenders
by
Barbara
Hudson
et
al,
from
CCETSW
Central
Office,
£6
Remanding
Mentally
Disordered
Women
To
learn
more
about
the
experience
of
women
remand
prisoners
who
are
recognised
within
prison
as
mentally
disordered,
a
team
of
researchers
based
at
the
Cambridge
Institute
of
Criminology
studied
465
new
receptions
at
Holloway
Prison
between
April
and
October
1989
to
see
how
many
were
(a)
considered
by
prison
psychiatrists
to
be
psychotic
or
mentally
handicapped
or
had
histories
of
psychosis,
(b)
referred
to
outside
psychiatrists
and
(c)
made
subjects
of
psychiatric
reports
for
courts.
This
yielded
a
total
of
196
receptions,
representing
176
individuals
(20
women
being
received
more
than
once).
Mum=
#
Ninety-five
women
were
considered
to
have
past
or
present
diagnoses
of
psychotic
illness,
40
being
diagnosed
as
schizophrenic;
for
a
further
29
no
specific
diagnosis
was
recorded,
though
the
researchers
estimate
that
most
were
schizophrenic.
A
large
proportion
(43 % )
had
no
place
they
could
call
home.
Court
reports
were
requested
for
two-
thirds
of
the
psychotic
group.
Referrals
to
outside
psychiatrists
with
a
view
to
obtaining
a
hospital
bed
were
made
for
81
(85%)
of
the
women
in
this
group,
in
ten
cases
to
consultants
for
secure
units;
beds
were
offered
to
57
(77 %).
Of
those
who
did
not
obtain
beds,
15
were
considered
to
be
undoubtedly
psychotic
by
prison
psychiatrists,
the
most
frequent
reason
for
failure
being
disagreement
by
the
visiting
doctor
over
the
degree
of
illness.
Where
hospital
places
were
available,
the
courts
enabled
the
offered
beds
to
be
used,
38
(68 % )
leaving
Holloway
on
s37
hospital
orders.
In
at
least
half
of
these
cases,
magistrates
made
the
order
without
convicting
the
defendant,
as a
way
of
avoiding
’unfitness
to
plead’
questions.
Of
those
24
referred
women
who
did
not
obtain
a
bed,
nine
had
charges
against
them
dropped,
11
received
non-custodial
penalties
and
four
received
prison
sentences,
usually
leading
to
their
early
or
immediate
release
back
into
the
community.
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