The mental health tribunal of Queensland: A useful model for UK forensic psychiatry?

Abstract

In the Australian state of Queensland responsibility for determining criminal responsibility in a mentally ill person charged with offences lies with the mental health tribunal (MHT), a special sitting of the Supreme Court. The MHT consists of a senior judge, advised by two eminent psychiatrists, who adopts an inquisitorial approach to the examination of psychiatric evidence. A hospital order is usually imposed for serious offences but community treatment can also be ordered.

The Queensland system aims to provide access to psychiatric treatment and to careful consideration of criminal responsibility for all persons charged with an indictable offence, and to make these options available even to defendants facing relatively minor charges. The system is broadly popular with local forensic psychiatrists though they criticize its speed and flexibility. It is less popular with politicians and the press, who complain that it allows criminals to evade responsibility for their offences. There is no research evidence to show whether the MHT improves the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offenders or reduces the risk to the community; nevertheless it is an interesting approach to a difficult problem and merits formal evaluation.

Key Words:

• insanity defence
• forensic psychiatry
• mentally disordered offender
• mental health tribunal