Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

chance of another timely release, especially if they have re-offended. As a matter of fact, allpatients discharged from forensic psychiatric hospitals had, at the time, been considered fit forconditional release. From a risk assessment point of view, those who did not do well may beconsidered false negatives.Objectives: 1. To investigate two sub-groups of patients released from German forensicpsychiatric hospitals: 1.a) patients who have done well under the legal requirements ofconditional release and 1.b) those who did not, i.e. the patients whose conditional release waslegally withdrawn within a relatively short time at risk. 2. To investigate the reasons forwithdrawal of conditional release in group 1b). 3. To identify a set of legal and psychosocialperson-related variables associated with the odds of withdrawal of conditional release fromGerman forensic psychiatric hospitals.Method: Several German forensic psychiatric hospitals were asked to provide data on legal andpsychosocial person-related variables that might distinguish between the subgroups describedabove. The cut-off for group assignment was the legal status at thirty months at risk, i.e. thepatients whose conditional releases were not withdrawn within thirty months from dischargewere considered “to do well”. Assessments of over 800 patients discharged from 2009 to 2011are analysed and compared with respect to their legal background, type of offence, psychiatricdiagnoses, prior psychiatric treatments, and variables tapping psychosocial adaptation prior toadmission.Results and Discussion: Preliminary results will be presented and implications discussed.133. Problem-Solving CourtsImproving the Criminal Justice Response to Offenders with Mental Illness inRemote Northern CommunitiesPriscilla Ferrazzi, Queen’s University (priscilla.ferrazzi@queensu.ca)Tery Krupa, Queen’s University (terry.krupa@queensu.ca)In remote communities in the Far North, the capacity of criminal justice systems to deal withoffenders with mental illness is taxed by limited available resources and the absence ofspecialized "mental health courts" and related "diversion programs" used in the south. Thisresearch explores the ability to incorporate principles of problem-solving courts that guidemental health courts and diversion programs into the criminal court structure and practice ofremote communities. The application of problem-solving principles results in people with mentalillness accessing community treatment rather than facing prosecution or incarceration whenmental illness is seen as the main cause of criminal behaviour and the approach is appropriate tothe nature and circumstances of the offence and the background of the offender. Exploration ofthe viability of this approach in northern communities is undertaken through a) an exploration ofthe essential principles of problem-solving courts and b) mental health support systems thatinclude a community-based rehabilitation model and/or the use of remote technologies. This315