NCJ Number
223243
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 47 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 2008 Pages: 168-184
Date Published
2008
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article examines issues pertaining to the prosecution of violent inpatients.
Abstract
The article acknowledges that inpatient assault of forensic and psychiatric staff is a complex and multifaceted issue, and that the consequences reported in literature on this topic is quite variable. This article seeks to examine the issue by discussing the illustrative cases to show inconsistent outcomes and procedures inherent in prosecutions. Challenges relating to prosecution included: perceptions of psychiatric care, i.e., the acceptance of abuse by staff members as part of the job; legal legislation; and the ethics of prosecution. Guidelines are recommended for use in establishing process and procedure for assaultive inpatients, such as patient categorization; behavioral categorization; use of internal reviews; and identifying and following the steps related to a prosecution process. Considerations are also provided in the article for the subsequent sentencing and rehabilitation of the offender to include therapeutic jurisprudence, "pocket probation" (an adjudication in contemplation of dismissal), and mental health courts as a means of diversion from the criminal system. The article recommends that the use of these steps improves the sense of security for staff, but can hold benefits for the offending inpatient, and stresses that followup should be mandatory to determine the effects achieved. References, notes