Abstract
Can clozapine reduce violent crime in patients with schizophrenia?
Patients with psychosis are 4–10 times more likely to commit homicide, compared with the general population and 2–8 times more likely to commit violence as compared to non-affected members of the general population (Simpson et al., 2021). Worldwide trends of homicide rates for patients with psychosis have been largely unchanged for several decades. While total homicide rates reduced by 50% in Australia between 1993 and 2013, homicide rates for patients with severe mental illness were essentially unchanged (Simpson et al., 2021).
In this correspondence, we respond to the viewpoint by Simpson et al. (2021) on ‘Homicide associated with psychotic illness: What temporal trends tell us about the association between mental illness and violence’. We specifically suggest increasing clozapine utilisation for patients with schizophrenia, to potentially reduce rates of incarceration, violent crime and possibly homicide...
Patients with psychosis are 4–10 times more likely to commit homicide, compared with the general population and 2–8 times more likely to commit violence as compared to non-affected members of the general population (Simpson et al., 2021). Worldwide trends of homicide rates for patients with psychosis have been largely unchanged for several decades. While total homicide rates reduced by 50% in Australia between 1993 and 2013, homicide rates for patients with severe mental illness were essentially unchanged (Simpson et al., 2021).
In this correspondence, we respond to the viewpoint by Simpson et al. (2021) on ‘Homicide associated with psychotic illness: What temporal trends tell us about the association between mental illness and violence’. We specifically suggest increasing clozapine utilisation for patients with schizophrenia, to potentially reduce rates of incarceration, violent crime and possibly homicide...
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 148-149 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 18 Sept 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2023 |
Keywords
- Schizophrenia
- Crime
- Homicide
- Clozapine
- Psychotic illness