Criminality, dangerousness and schizophrenia

Abstract

This chapter will examine the relationship between suffering a schizophrenic illness and an increased propensity to act in a criminal, and in particular a violent manner. This is an emotive issue, because in part to argue for such a connection is to risk reawakening in our community the fear of the mad with its attendant demands for containment, and in part, because if accepted it could indiscriminately stigmatize all those who come into contact with the mental health services. The demystifying of madness and the refuting of popular and professional prejudices about the violent proclivities of the mentally disordered, particularly those with schizophrenic conditions, was important in the change in emphasis from control and containment toward management and normalization. Those of us committed to further progress along this particular road have every reason to be wary of the use that will be made by those who favour a return of asylum incarceration, any suggestion that those with schizophrenic disorders are prone to criminality and violence.