There are approximately six times more people declared not criminally responsible due to mental disorders in Quebec than in other Canadian provinces. Worrying issue: less than half had received psychiatric follow-up in the year preceding the crime.
This is the conclusion of researcher Anne Crocker, director of research and university teaching at the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel. The expert testified in the coroner’s inquest into three homicides in August 2022. Everything aims to shed light on the deaths of André Lemieux, Mohamed Belhaj and Alex Levis-Crevier. The suspect, Abdulla Shaikh, was shot dead by police shortly after the killings.
In Quebec, between 450 and 550 accused are declared not criminally responsible each year, explained the researcher to the coroner responsible for the case, Me Géhane Kamel. “This is significantly higher than in all other Canadian provinces. We are talking about six times more. »
This does not necessarily mean that there are more crimes related to mental health in Quebec. “We possibly use this verdict more often in Quebec in our courts,” she emphasizes.
The fact that the criminal justice system is increasingly used as a lever to access care has consequences: significant costs, reactive organization of services and serious personal consequences for the people involved, their loved ones and the victims, concludes Anne Crocker .
“It affects the volume that the mental disorders examination commissions have for monitoring,” summarizes the researcher.
Furthermore, 71% of people declared not criminally responsible were known to mental health services in the year before the crime, reveals the researcher. It is estimated that one in five people commit the offense within a week of contact with mental health services, often in emergency rooms.
Across the country, the majority of people declared not criminally responsible are for cases of threats or assault. The family members of the accused remain the first victims of these acts of violence.
Lack of follow-up
A statistic that says a lot: 58% of people declared not criminally responsible did not benefit from adequate follow-up in the year preceding the criminal act.
Many people identified as not criminally responsible have had irregular contact with the health system for their mental health. Data collected by researcher Anne Crocker and her team show that service interruptions often take place a few months before the crime.
“For example, several patients were discharged from psychiatric hospitalization without a follow-up appointment taking place subsequently,” notes Mme Crocker in a summary of his research presented to Me Kamel.
These periods when the individual is not taken care of can lead to episodes of decompensation during which crimes take place, often shortly after an attempt to obtain emergency services, concludes the researcher from the National Institute of Psychiatry. legal Philippe-Pinel.
A large part of the care and support is often relegated to families, the expert maintains.