Forensic Psychiatry: A Public Health Perspective

Forensic psychiatry is frequently defined as the branch of psychiatry that deals with issues arising in the interface between psychiatry and law. Forensic psychiatry uses psychiatric knowledge and techniques in questions of law. It is regarded as a subspecialty of psychiatry and a secondary science of criminology. The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law defines forensic psychiatry as a subspecialty of psychiatry in which scientific and clinical expertise is applied in legal contexts involving civil, criminal, correctional, regulatory or legislative matters, and in specialised clinical consultations in areas such as risk assessment or employment. This book is a collection of articles dedicated to different issues related to the field of forensic psychiatry.