The Canadian criminal code provisions for mentally disordered offenders: Asurvey of experiences, attitudes, and knowledge

Objective: To systematically survey Alberta psychiatrists and lawyers regar ding their knowledge of, attitudes toward,and experiences with the Criminal code provisions regarding mentally disordered offenders to better understa nd the lack of impact in practice patterns. Method: A survey design was used,and 2 questionnaires, 1 for lawyers and 1 for psychiatrists, were developed and mailed out. Results: Out of 245 surveys sent to psychiatrists, 141 were returned, givin g a response rate of 57%. The number of lawyers practising criminal law cou ld not be determined, and 5273 surveys were sent to all lawyers on the Law Society of Alberta mailing list. Of these, 564 were returned, giving an ove rall response rate of 11%. The response rate for lawyers practising crimina l law is unknown. Overall, lawyers were younger than psychiatrists. Most of the respondents in both groups wee men. Overall, attitudes toward offender s with mental illness were very similar among lawyers and psychiatrists. Co mpared with lawyers, psychiatrists had significantly more correct responses to the items assessing knowledge. With a highest possible knowledge score of 27, the average score was 16 (SD 5.7) for psychiatrists and 13 (SD 7.23) for lawyers. Conclusions: The lack of familiarity with many of the key provisions among psychiatrists and lawyers is worrisome and suggests the need for educationa l materials to improve knowledge of the Criminal Code provisions governing mentally disordered offenders.