UK: 1 person a week killed by someone with SMI

The Department of Health for England & Wales has released a report analyzing homicides and suicides by and “unexplained deaths” among people in those countries. The study looks at 27% of all suicides and 9% of all homicides in the countries over multi-year periods.

An average of one person a week dies at the hands of a mentally ill patient, according to an official report.

And almost a third of the killings are carried out by people who had been judged not to be a risk to the public. [The Guardian, December 4, 2006]

The report is The National Confidential Inquiry (NCI) into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness.

Dr. Torrey's latest piece on violence and schizophrenia is in the latest edition of Schizophrenia Research ...