What is 
Forensic Psychiatry?

Forensic psychiatry is the field that examines the relationship between mental disorders and criminal behavior.

Forensic psychiatrists are involved at various stages of the criminal justice process, including:

• Assessing the defendant's competence to stand trial

• Evaluating the risk level of detained patients to determine appropriate security measures

• Overseeing the treatment of the mental disorder and other factors contributing to the offending behavior

• Advances in understanding factors related to violent behavior in mentally disordered offenders have led to the development of actuarial risk assessment tools.

• The treatment of mentally disordered offenders is complex, involving both treatment of the mental disorder (often with medication) and addressing the underlying causes of the criminal behavior.