§ Baroness WOOTTON of ABINGERasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many persons released from detention under hospital orders under Part V of the 1959 Mental Health Act (whether or not subject also to restriction orders under Section 65 of the Act) have in the past five years been convicted of serious crimes of violence, and of these how many were convicted of murder.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord Belstead)The information currently available relates to persons detained in hospital under Part V of the Mental Health Act 1959 subject to restrictions on discharge who were conditionally discharged in 1971 or in 1973. Of the 280 such persons, eight are known to have been convicted within two years of discharge of a crime of violence against the person and of these one was convicted of homicide. No information is available on unrestricted patients who have been discharged from hospital.