NCJ Number
80846
Date Published
1977
Length
185 pages
Annotation
A study of modern forensic psychiatry in Austria traces the development of psychiatric concepts relating to the institutionalization of mentally deficient offenders and examines the types of mentally ill offenders now institutionalized in Austria.
Abstract
The book subscribes to the view that mentally ill offenders should be placed and treated in institutions created especially for their types of problems. This also represents the officially accepted view for treatment of mentally ill offenders. The book traces the development of psychiatric concepts relating to placement of offenders and the development of legal norms in this area since the 19th century. A section on prison psychoses and reactions to prison documents the effects that incarceration may have on the mental health of incarcerated individuals. The central focus of the work is a survey of the mentally ill offenders in Austrian institutions. The survey considers data from previous surveys, as well as information on age and sex, types of offenses, and diagnoses of offenders. In only 5 of the 1,000 cases examined did patients commit offenses during treatment or show signs of dangerousness, suggesting that the patients do not pose a large risk as mentally normal offenders. Further sections discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a central institution for mentally ill offenders and new directions in psychiatric evaluation of offenders. As a comparison of German and Austrian legal regulations on placement of mentally ill offenders shows, Austria has not developed special social therapeutic institutions as an alternative to psychiatric hospitals. A bibliography of 210 citations and extensive tabular data are supplied.