A RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF A THERAPEUTIC-COMMUNITY FOR MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS

This paper reports a retrospective evaluation of a therapeutic communi ty (TC) for mentally disordered offenders in a regional secure unit (R SU). All 85 patients who had passed through the TC since it opened in 1987 were eligible for the study. Information on 81 patients was avail able in clinical records, providing a descriptive profile of the popul ation. Information on recidivism was collected from the Home Office Of fenders Index for 53 patients, providing information on effectiveness of the TC in terms of its impact on crime. Those for whom post-dischar ge crime information was collected were split into assessment and trea tment groups, and short-and long-stay groups. All patients significant ly reduced their offending after discharge as compared with pre-admiss ion levels. There was no significant difference between the assessment and treatment groups, or between short-and long-stay groups. Whilst t here was a significant overall reduction in offending, this cannot be attributed to the TC programme. Programme design, selection criteria a nd pre-admission assessment all require further attention to optimize the effectiveness of group treatment for mentally disordered offenders .