NCJ Number
154766
Date Published
1995
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This bulletin provides data on restricted patients who were admitted to, detained in, or discharged from psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales between 1983 and 1993 and were subject to restrictions on discharge under Part III of the Mental Health Act of 1983 or the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act of 1964.
Abstract
The population detained in hospitals at the end of 1993 totaled 2,276, higher than in any of the previous 10 years. The number of patients transferred from prison before sentence increased by 28 percent between 1992 and 1993, from 380 to 486. After sentence, the number of patients transferred from prison before sentence rose from 230 to 290. In 1993, 1,031 restricted patients were admitted to hospitals, four times the number admitted in 1983; 9 percent of those admitted in 1993 were women. Also in 1993, 93 percent of restricted patients admitted to hospitals had a mental illness; in 1983, approximately 77 percent of admissions were mentally ill. The largest group of restricted patients had committed acts of violence against the person, including murder. The number of restricted patients in speical hospitals increased by 6 percent between 1983 and 1993, while the number in other hospitals rose by 66 percent. In 1993, 58 percent of patients detained in hospitals were between 21 and 39 years of age and 35 percent were between 40 and 59 years of age. The number of restricted patients admitted due to a court order fluctuated between 1983 and 1991 but rose sharply in 1992 and 1993. In 1993, 882 patients were discharged or disposed of, almost three times the corresponding figure of 298 patients in 1983. 18 notes and 12 tables