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Section 14. APPENDIX 4 - Risk
assessment
Two key criteria have to be considered in risk
assessment:
- The standard criterion for civil detention -
'significant risk to the health, safety, or welfare of
the person, or to the safety of any other person'
- The criterion for a restriction order - 'the risk
that as a result of the mental disorder he would commit
offences if set at large.'
During risk assessment, it is expected that detailed
consideration of the background history (including history
of violence and offending, history of mental disorder,
suicidal behaviour and psychiatric treatment, and history
of drugs and alcohol misuse), as well as any index offence
and its circumstances, will be made. Factors that might
exacerbate or protect against the risk should also be
considered.
Psychiatrists might be expected to use a standardised
risk assessment tool when forming a judgement on risk. Many
examples of usable risk assessment tools exist, including
the modified Sainsbury tool and the Glasgow Risk Screen.
Other more detailed risk assessment tools (such as the
HCR-20) can be found in forensic
psychiatry settings.
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