BMJ 1999;319:1146-1147 ( 30 October )

Editorials

Dangerous people with severe personality disorder

British proposals for managing them are glaringly wrongand unethical

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

This summer the British Department of Health and the Home Office jointly issued a paper on Managing Dangerous People with Severe Personality Disorder.¹ The paper was apparently "based on the results of extensive informal discussions" and sets out the government's policy objectives in dealing with what the paper calls the "dangerous severely personality disordered." The paper avoids descending into the apparently unending debate over what is, or is not, a personality disorder and to what extent personality disorders are treatable and attempts to cut through the gordian knot with what presumably are intended as straightforward and practical proposals for action. If only it were that simple.

This government "framework for the future" proposes legal powers for detaining indefinitely people with dangerous severe personality disorder. Specialists, including psychiatrists, are to be employed both to better identify people with dangerous severe personality disorder and to develop "approaches to detention and management." Finally . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Reforming mental health law in England and Wales

Nigel Eastman
BMJ 2006 332: 737-738. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Seddon, T. (2008). Dangerous liaisons: Personality disorder and the politics of risk. Punishment Society 10: 301-317 [Abstract]  
• Tuddenham, L., Baird, J. (2007). The Risk Management Authority in Scotland and the forensic psychiatrist as risk assessor. Psychiatr. Bull. 31: 164-166 [Full text]  
• Mullen, P. E. (2007). Dangerous and severe personality disorder and in need of treatment. Br. J. Psychiatry 190: s3-s7 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Eastman, N. (2006). Reforming mental health law in England and Wales.. BMJ 332: 737-738 [Full text]  
• Doctor, R. (2004). Psychodynamic lessons in risk assessment and management. Adv. Psychiatr. Treat. 10: 267-276 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Coid, J., Maden, T. (2003). Should psychiatrists protect the public?. BMJ 326: 406-407 [Full text]  
• COID, J. (2003). Epidemiology, public health and the problem of personality disorder. Br. J. Psychiatry 182 : s3-s10 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Birmingham, L. (2002). Detaining dangerous people with mental disorders. BMJ 325: 2-3 [Full text]  
• Culliford, L., Chaplin, R. H (2002). The limits of psychiatry. BMJ 324: 1523-1523 [Full text]  
• White, S M (2002). Preventive detention must be resisted by the medical profession. J. Med. Ethics 28: 95-98 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Darjee, R., Crichton, J. H. M. (2002). The MacLean Committee: Scotland's answer to the dangerous people with severe personality disorder' proposals?. Psychiatr. Bull. 26: 6-8 [Full text]  
• Haddock, A.W., Snowden, P. R., Dolan, M., Parker, J., Rees, H. (2001). Managing dangerous people with severe personality disorder: a survey of forensic psychiatrists' opinions. Psychiatr. Bull. 25: 293-296 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Petch, E. (2001). Risk management in UK mental health services: an overvalued idea?. Psychiatr. Bull. 25: 203-205 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Dealing with Dangerous people-Law or Psychiatry

Brian Boettcher
bmj.com, 29 Oct 1999 [Full text]

Dangerous people with severe personality disorder

David Church
bmj.com, 8 May 2000 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>