Forensic psychiatry and general psychiatry: re-examining the relationship

Abstract

Something is going wrong with forensic psychiatry, as a concept and as a service. Beds in medium secure units are logjammed, and relations with general adult services increasingly fraught with disputes over resources and responsibilities. Despite a remarkable investment in buildings, and the 300% growth of the forensic specialty (Goldberg, 2006), offending behaviour by individuals with mental illness shows no sign of decline, either in terms of prison numbers (at record high levels in the UK) or the countless demands for risk assessment (Duggan, 1997; Moon, 2000).