[Persons held in preventive detention (§ 66 Criminal Code): characteristics of offenders and the impact on prospects for successful completion of therapy]. / Sicherungsverwahrte (§ 66 StGB): Merkmale der Täter und ihre Bedeutung für die Erfolgsaussichten eines therapeutischen Vollzugs.

With its verdict in May 2011 the German Federal Constitutional Court declared the current law for preventive detention unconstitutional and obliged the legislative bodies to undertake a freedom- and treatment-oriented reform. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists are bound to provide therapeutic concepts. Currently there is a lack of information on the intended clientele. In our study we examined 26 persons serving preventive detention, 32 regular prisoners and 29 non-delinquent probands. The groups were matched according to age and intelligence. We gathered sociodemographic data, criminal records and conducted the tests SCID I, SCID II und PCL-R, K-FAF and BIS-11 to obtain diagnoses and characteristics. Based on this information, the HCR-20 and GAF were performed. In comparison to regular prisoners and non-delinquents, the group of those serving preventive detention is characterised by medium to advanced age, antisociality, psychopathy, substance abuse or addiction, aggressivity, a strong criminal record, years of imprisonment, insufficient educational and vocational training and a high risk of recidivism. In our examination of persons serving preventive detention, we demonstrate that this clientele is a group of recidivists difficult to treat. The current laws and a lack of early intervention programs have prevented and delayed their timely and possibly successful treatment. From a psychiatric point of view, there is a strong need for new therapeutic concepts to meet this challenge.

[Violent offenders with or without antisocial personality disorder. A comparison]. / Gewaltstraftäter mit und ohne Antisoziale Persönlichkeitsstörung. Ein Vergleich.

BACKGROUND: The influence of legal offences on the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a common discussion. A population of imprisoned delinquents diagnosed with ASPD was compared to delinquents without ASPD concerning sociodemographic, criminological and clinical characteristics to determine if ASPD can differentiate delinquents apart from committing legal offences. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 36 violent offenders with diagnosed ASPD and 29 violent offenders without ASPD were recruited in the prison of Straubing (Germany); 28 control subjects without previous convictions were recruited in the German population. All subjects were examined with the SKID-I and SKID-II, GAF, BIS-11, EPI and K-FAF. RESULTS: Violent offenders with ASPD differ from violent offenders without ASPD concerning the following parameters: high values of impulsivity, aggression, irritability, neuroticism and extraversion; low levels of psychosocial functioning, cumulative "broken home" indicators and antisocial behaviour before the age of 11 ("early starters"). CONCLUSION: Some features are suitable for the discrimination between offenders with or without ADPD, but our results indicate that samples are better distinguished by a dimensional approach, oriented toward their degree of characteristics.