@article{ref1,
title="Gun-related and other violent crime after involuntary commitment and short-term emergency holds",
journal="The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law",
year="2020",
author="Swanson, Jeffrey W. and Tong, Guangyu and Robertson, Allison G. and Swartz, Marvin S.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="This article presents a survival analysis of long-term risk of firearm-related and other violent crime in a large sample of adults with serious mental illness in Florida, comparing those who received a gun-disqualifying civil commitment after a short-term hold, those who were evaluated for commitment but were released or hospitalized voluntarily, and a third group with no holds or commitments. Among 77,048 adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression, 42.7 percent were detained for psychiatric examination under Florida's Baker Act; of that detained group, 8.4 percent were involuntarily committed while the remainder were released within 72 hours or agreed to voluntary admission. Over a follow-up period averaging six to seven years, 7.5 percent of the sample were arrested for a violent offense not involving a gun, and 0.9 percent were arrested for a violent crime involving a gun. A short-term hold with or without commitment was associated with a significantly higher risk of future arrest for violent crime, although the study population had other violence risk factors unrelated to mental illness. Risk of gun-involved crime, specifically, was significantly higher in individuals following a short-term hold only, but not in those who were involuntarily committed and became ineligible to purchase or possess guns. Policy implications are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1093-6793",
doi="10.29158/JAAPL.200082-20",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.200082-20"
}