It will assist analysis if comments are related to these broad questions, but we will also welcome views on other aspects of these proposals. The challenge to public safety presented by the minority of people with severe personality disorder, who because of their disorder pose a risk of serious offending, has been recognised by successive administrations. Dealing with this problem brings together criminal justice and health and social policy and raises complex and sensitive ethical questions. The paper sets out the Government s policy objectives for tackling these issues. It describes the range of service and legislative options that we are considering.
Personality disorder is a term used to describe a number of different conditions.
The great majority of people with personality disorder cause at most some distress to themselves or to their family or friends for example by their obsessive or compulsive behaviour. But at the other end of the spectrum is a small group of people who are very seriously disordered and who pose a very high risk to the public. This paper is concerned with the problems presented by this small group. There are estimated to be just over 2000 people who would fall into this group in England and Wales. But the law as it stands fails to protect the public from the danger these people represent because in many cases they have to be allowed to return to the community even though they remain dangerous.