ABSTRACT

The notion of the prevention of risk of harm to self or others is entrenched in mental health laws. This reflects social psychology research indicating that certain groups are marginalised because of prejudiced assumptions, stigma and discrimination. This chapter concerns preventive justice in the form of 'pre-crime' measures, particularly in relation to suspected terrorists. There is also a range of 'post-crime' and 'post-sentence' schemes that enable indefinite or continued detention or supervision aimed at preventing reoffending, particularly in relation to those viewed as high-risk offenders such as sex offenders. Most of these schemes are predicated on the risk of harm to others due to problem behaviours as well as possible harm to self. Much more attention has been paid to the risk of harm to others posed by persons with severe mental impairments. Mental health laws, however, are keen to focus on 'mental illness' as a discrete category, and substance use is generally seen as irrelevant to a diagnosis.