Objectives: The aim of the study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between psychiatric diagnosis, substance use conditions, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and the crime type in the patients referred from forensic medicine to our forensic psychiatry clinic.
Method: In this study, archive files and reports of 411 cases referred from forensic medicine to Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine Forensic Psychiatry Clinic between 2007-2011, were investigated retrospectively.
Results: Cases in which substance use and dependence were evaluated, cannabis was found to be substance of interest in %57.1 of cases, heroin %14.6, multiple substances %13.1 and other drugs in %0.5. Among cases that were evaluated in relevance to TCK 32, multiple substances were found to be the substance of interest in %7.7 of cases, cannabis %6.9, and heroin %3.8. Male sex was found to be significantly higher and educational levels were found to be significantly lower in cases in terms of crime, substance use and dependence, evaluated for criminal liability. In our study, cases involved in crime, had the psychiatric diagnoses in order of frequency as substance dependence, psychotic disorders and mood disorders.
Conclusion: People suffering substance use and dependence are too much involved in crime directly or indirectly depending upon the substance used. These people are frequently enrolled in the judicial system and in this process they are subjects of forensic psychiatry.