-Caveat Lector- http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/12/10/stinwenws01028.html BRITAIN December 10 2000 Alarm over mental patients' crime rate James Clark, Home Affairs Correspondent UP TO one in three patients released from high-security hospitals will commit a serious crime within five years, according to new Home Office research. The figures reveal that about a third of those released in certain categories go on to commit a violent, sexual or other serious crime. The research is another headache for the government, which has already delayed an important announcement on the future of mental health. The findings will intensify pressure for the closure of secure special hospitals such as Rampton and Broadmoor - already under fire after a series of security scandals. Many of the released offenders had been freed by the Mental Health Review tribunal, which is under assessment as part of a wider study by the health department, but announcements on the findings have been delayed. While in many areas reoffending rates hover at about 10%, especially for the most grave crimes, in certain areas the rate can exceed 30%. A private study by the Institute of Psychiatry in London showed far higher rates than officially announced by the Home Office. Jack Straw, the home secretary, has promised strict new rules to lock up the most unpredictable offenders before they offend. His stance follows a number of murders, including those of mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell, killed by released patient Michael Stone as they walked home at Nonington, near Canterbury, in July 1996. In October Andrew Ackroyd, a schizophrenic, was confined to a hospital indefinitely after killing his father. He had done so shortly after being released from an institution where he was confined after attacking a student with a carving knife. The latest figures will put pressure on Straw from hardliners to push through the new legislation quickly, whereas reformers will see them as evidence that large hospital regimes are not the answer. A spokesman for Nacro, the offender rehabilitation agency, said: "Only a handful of mentally disordered offenders go on to commit a violent or sexual offence on release from hospital. We must reduce the risk this group can pose, but the perception of hordes of dangerous mentally disordered people on the loose is wide of the mark." Copyright 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd. ========================================== <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
