Abstract
Under the 1959 Mental Health Act of England and Wales, it was possible for courts to sentence offenders to hospital provided they had been found guilty of an offence which was punishable by a term of imprisonment. Higher courts could add restrictions to a hospital order if they so wished. This power has been retained in the 1983 Mental Health Act and this paper examines the nature and use of the restricted hospital order.
Highlights
TshhaotultdherepsoidweerwittohdtihsechHaorgmeecSeertcarientaoryff:e"n.d..er wpeattiheinntks it desirable that the discharge of patients admitted following court proceedings who are known to be dangerous should be controlled by a central auth ority who would have special regard to the protection of the public
S"Wechtieonn a65h(o1s)poitfalthoerd1e9r5i9s Mmaednetal(..H..)ealathndAicttapstpaeteadrs: to the court, having regard to the nature of the offence, the antecedents of the offender and the risk of his committing further offences if set at large, that it is necessary for the protection of the public so to do, the court may
Expressed as a proportion of all hospital orders per year under mental illness, restricted orders account for only 12.6% on average (s.d. 2.83), a significantly smaller proportion than that obtaining in the Psychopathic Disorder (PD) category (P< 0.0001)
Summary
GRAHAMROBERTSONL,ecturer in Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5. Under the 1959 Mental Health Act of England and Wales, it was possible for courts to sentence offenders to hospital provided they had been found guilty of an offence which was punishable by a term of imprisonment. Higher courts could add restric tions to a hospital order if they so wished. This power has been retained in the 1983 Mental Health Act and this paper examines the nature and use of the restricted hospital order
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.