RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: According to article 21 of the current Belgian law regarding the protection of society, the ministry of Justice can transfer a convicted prisoner to the Commission for the Protection of Society if that prisoner develops a severe mental illness in the course of a prison sentence. The proposed abolition of this article is raising concerns in psychiatric hospitals which are not equipped to deal with dangerous forensic patients.
AIM: To explore the profiles of convicted internees and to find out to what extent they differ from the profiles of regular internees.
METHOD: Convicted internees (n = 48) and regular internees (n = 483) treated in one of the Flemish medium security units were compared on the basis of demographic, clinical and risk factors.
RESULTS: Compared to regular internees, convicted internees suffered from more serious psychiatric problems and showed a more severe risk profile.
CONCLUSION: The abolition of article 21 presents regular psychiatric hospitals with new challenges.