Changes to the Criminal Code Provisions for Mentally Disordered Offenders and their Implications for Canadian Psychiatry

Abstract

Bill C-30, implemented in February 1992, made a number of significant changes to the Criminal Code provisions concerning the assessment, treatment and disposition of mentally disordered persons charged with a crime, including persons considered to be unfit to stand trial or pleading insanity. The changes deal mainly with procedural law and the civil rights of persons being assessed or held in custody, and put limits on where, how long and for what purpose persons may be detained. The new law abolishes the automatic, indeterminate detention of persons found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. The changes may mean that the forensic psychiatric route is now a more “attractive option” for defendants. The new law may create administrative problems for clinicians by leading to increased requests for psychiatric assessments while at the same time constraining the assessment process.