Impact of social changes on female mentally disordered offenders from 1980 to 1994 in Japan.

Social change, particularly in mental health policy, may affect the distribution of crime and the legal process. This article presents trends in female crimes during a 15-year period (1980 to 1994) and examines the characteristics of the 1980 and the 1994 group of female mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) in Japan. Data were obtained from the prosecutor's files on a total of 2,094 MDOs who were not prosecuted, or whose criminal responsibility was judged as diminished, or who were exempted due to mental disorders in 1980 and 1994 throughout Japan. Female MDOs accounted for 270 (12.9%) of these cases. A comparison was made between the 1980 group (140 women) and the 1994 group (130 women) in regard to demographic status, criminal variables, psychiatric variables, and legal dispositions. Findings revealed a parallel relationship between female criminals and female MDOs. In both the female criminals and female MDOs, the trend was toward a decrease in homicides and an increase in larceny and drug-related crimes. The 1994 group was more likely to have an even distribution across age groups, have more employment and more job change experience, live more independently, and to have committed more nonviolent crimes, and have more prior crime records than the 1980 group. There was no significant difference in their homicide victims or in the index diagnoses between the two groups. Compared with the 1980 group, the 1994 group was significantly older (40 years versus 36 years on average), had received more outpatient and community mental health services, had been charged more often with larceny, had higher criminal recidivism rates, and had experienced a more simplified legal process as well. The effect of deinstitutionalization is also discussed.