Introductory comments to the special issue, high risk offenders with personality disorders: conceptual and scientific bases

Over the past few years there has been a renewal of interest in, and enthusiasm for,developing treatment interventions for high risk offenders with severe personality disorders. This group poses considerable challenges to public safety, to those responsible for managing such people within criminal justice and mental health systems and to clinicians charged with devising valid assessments and effective interventions. In England and Wales there has been a considerable expansion of treatment services both in the health service and in prison settings. In particular, the recent DSPD (Dangerous with Severe Personality Disorder) initiative, funded by the Home Office and the Department of Health, has led to the establishment of treatment programmes at four sites, two within National Health Service mental health trusts and two within the prison system. Admission criteria for these programmes include both the presence of high risk for future violence and of severe personality disorder. There are few programmes on this scale or intensity around the world for this particular population