Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Field Of Forensic Psychiatry

By Gary Ward


Psychiatry is among medical fields that has several branches under it. Under it is the field of forensic psychiatry, which has a close relationship with criminology. The short form F will be used for the purpose of this writing. FP is a field that creates an interface between law and psychiatry. Forensic psychiatrists are the medical professionals who specialize in this field. They take on a lot of duties in the court system and activities related to law enforcement.

Forensic psychiatrists work for or together with the court system in determining if defendants are able to stand trials. They provide evaluation that are based upon to sentence offenders. The professionals may also work for defendants in the capacity of expert witnesses in lawsuits. There are two key areas encompassed in criminal evaluations, that is CST and MSO. CST is the abbreviation for Competency to Stand Trial whereas MSO is the abbreviation for mental State during Time of Offence.

Competency to Stand Trial refers to as competency evaluation that aims to determine if the defendant in a lawsuit has the mental capacity to understand the charges they face. It also determines if the defendant is in a position to help their own attorneys in preparing their defenses. CST is a provision in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The provision requires that one must be present for their own trial, face their accuser, and help their attorney to defend themselves.

There are also times when these psychiatrists may be required to act as expert witnesses in civil or criminal cases. Here, they present an independent opinion to the court in the form of a report. They formulate their opinions and explain to the court the basis of their opinions. The judge or jury may base on the opinion given by the expert witness to make the final ruling.

FP professionals are also often employed to offer an opinion regarding the mental fitness of an individual when they committed a crime. The aim is determining if the defendant had knowledge that their actions were of a criminal nature. States differ in their application this psychiatric knowledge. Some use the knowledge heavily while other do not allow its use in their court systems.

Mental fitness is determined by psychiatrists based on three main standards of reasoning, that is, MNaghten rules, ALI test, and Durham rule. These standards may lead to dropping of charges against defendants because of lack of mental capacity during committing of a crime. The defendant is let free because they could not comprehend the criminality of their actions due to lack of the necessary mental capacity.

When psychiatrists are hired to evaluate mental fitness in court, both the defense and prosecution usually have their own professionals. Psychiatrists get employed to care for prisoners in prison and jail. Additionally, their services are needed in caring for individuals who are mentally ill and as a result of their mental illness, they have been free from their crimes.

The field of risk management is also adopting FP very fast. Potential or suspected offenders can be put under supervision of a team of forensic psychiatric professionals. The team is often comprised of care workers, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists among others.




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