Forensic Psychiatric exPertise: about 169 cases

Abstract

Purpose: Evaluation of five-year activities of forensic psychiatry expertise.
subjects and methods: We reviewed files of defendants who were examined by forensic psychiatric experts, in a
psychiatric department, in Sfax, Tunisia, from 2002 through 2006. We wish to highlight that in most of the cases
the defendants submitted to expertise were suspected of mental disorders.
results: This study focused on 169 defendants, 94% of which were male. Their mean age was 31 years and 3 months.
Their residence area was urban or semi-urban in 80% of the cases. The rate of the unemployed or those having
irregular jobs was 84,6 %. Seventy-five per cent had psychiatric records and 26,6% had legal antecedents. The
main offenses were: homicides or homicide attempts (17,2%), assaults and injuries (18,9%), theft (27,2%) and
sexual offenses (8,3%).
Concerning the diagnosis, 49,7% had an antisocial personality disorder, 13% suffered from schizophrenia and
11,2 % had mental retardation. Lunacy was observed in 35,5% of the cases.
conclusion: Our study confirmed the importance of criminological factors, such as male sex, young age, precarious social status and legal antecedents, in guiding prevention. The mental disorders were frequent, especially personality disorders.