Davis S
Greater Vancouver Mental Health Service, Canada.
Bull Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 1994;22(3):389-97.
This study is an examination of the process of pre-trial diversion, in which prosecutors use their discretion to drop criminal proceedings against mentally disordered persons on the condition that such persons be certified and detained for treatment in a hospital setting. An attempt was made to uncover the factors relevant to understanding why mentally disordered offenders are diverted in some instances but not in others. Using data from the forensic psychiatric system of a Canadian province, it was found that accused persons were diverted into the mental health system in 13.4 percent of cases over a three-year period. Three factors were found to be significantly associated with the diversion decision: 1) offense seriousness, with persons facing less serious charges being diverted in a greater proportion of cases; 2) court jurisdiction, with courts in smaller centres and outlying areas being more likely to divert; and 3) psychiatrist, with considerable variability between psychiatrists in their use of the diversion mechanism. The significance of these results and implications for forensic psychiatric policy-making are discussed.
本研究考察了审前转处程序，在此程序中，检察官可自行决定撤销对精神错乱者的刑事诉讼，但条件是这些人需被认证并拘留在医院接受治疗。研究试图找出相关因素，以理解为何精神错乱的罪犯在某些情况下会被转处，而在其他情况下则不会。利用加拿大一个省份法医精神病系统的数据发现，在三年时间里，13.4%的案件中的被告人被转至心理健康系统。研究发现有三个因素与转处决定显著相关：1）罪行严重程度，面临较轻指控的人在更大比例的案件中被转处；2）法院管辖权，较小中心和偏远地区的法院更有可能进行转处；3）精神病医生，不同精神病医生在使用转处机制方面存在很大差异。文中讨论了这些结果的意义以及对法医精神病决策的影响。
