MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS IN THE UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES - THE OUTCOME OF A DISCRETIONARY REFERRAL SYSTEM

Objective: To evaluate the diversion system practised in the United Ar ab Emirates (UAE), and to characterize the disturbed offenders seen. D esign: Retrospective case-note analysis of offenders referred by the p olice for psychiatric assessment and treatment. Setting: Psychiatric U nit of Al Ain General Hospital, UAE. Subjects: A total of 118 defendan ts suspected of being mentally disturbed and referred by the police an d judiciary during a 4-year period. Intervention: All referrals were a ssessed by two consultant psychiatrists. Main outcome measures: Charac terization of the mentally disturbed defendants by ICD-9 diagnosis, of fence, previous criminal history, previous psychiatric history, age, s ex, nationality, marital status and employment. Results: Of the 118 de fendants screened, 104 (89%) were diagnosed as mentally disturbed. Con clusions: The vast majority of the referrals were judged appropriate. The police and judiciary play a vital role in channelling mentally dis turbed offenders for psychiatric care.