The case notes and court reports of 1, 000 consecutive outpatient referrals to a regional forensic outpatient service were studied retrospectively. Socio-demo-graphic, psychiatric and forensic information was collected. The sample was predominantly male, Caucasian and relatively young in comparison with a general psychiatric population. The commonest source of referral was from defence solicitors and the commonest reason for referral was for a court report. A wide range of diagnoses and offences were noted. A number of differences were found in the frequency of gender, ethnicity and diagnosis according to the source of, and reason for, referral.
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