<p>Violence after discharge from forensic units in the safe pilot study: a prospective study with matched pair design</p>

Abstract

ObjectiveThis paper reports on a prospective naturalistic study of violent recidivism after discharge from forensic mental health. Main aims were to find predictors of violence and to test the feasibility of a matched pair design for this purpose.MethodsPatients from the Safe pilot project (n=18) and a group of controls (n=18) were matched on 10 variables, such as diagnosis, seriousness of violence, setting after discharge, and risk management plans. All the Safe pilot patients had been through repeated measurement of dynamic risk factors of violence the year before discharge to develop efficient risk management plans for use after discharge. We wanted to test whether violent recidivism during follow-up would be lower and less serious in the Safe pilot group.ResultsWe found no significant between-group difference concerning number of patients with violent recidivism. However, the Safe pilot patients had significantly lower rates of violence and fewer severe violent episodes. In the control group, there was a significant association between a high number of risk management plans and high rates of violence. There was a statistical trend for the opposite association in the Safe pilot group.ConclusionWe discuss this in terms of a possible gap between the development and implementation of plans.

Early Recognition Method: ‘Opening Doors’ in Risk Management Dialogue Between Mental Health and Prison Services

“…In order to explain this violence, the emphasis is often on the personal characteristics of clients. However, it appears that situational, relational and environmental factors also make an important contribution to the explanation of the origin of violence (Bjørkly et al, 2019). For example, overcrowding and insufficient limiting of undesirable behaviour are associated with an increased risk of violence.…”