Mentally Disordered Offenders

Although there is no agreed definition of the term 'mentally disordered offender', in practice it usually refers to individuals who have, or appear to have, a psychiatric disorder and who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Although technically psychiatric services will be available to all mentally disordered offenders, due to the limitations in service provision and resources, most of the services are for people with severe mental illness or a significant learning disability. Obviously, mentally disordered offenders commit a range of offences, but the vast majority of offences are usually minor and prosecuted under summary procedure.  

Mentally disordered offenders are detained under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. For a brief overview of the provisions available to the courts under this Act see here. Mentally disordered offenders may also be subject to sections of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2003. 

A recent report looking at the scale of severe mental health problems amongst the Scottish prison population can be found here.