Preventing homicide in the context of psychosis

Careful attention to persecutory delusions of patients and to concerns of family members may help

Any homicide is a tragedy, with devastating consequences for all involved, including perpetrators, their families and the community. People with a psychotic illness make a small, steady contribution to homicide figures. Strangers are rarely victims of such events, with family members and others known to the individual at much higher risk.1,2 Other than the impact of psychotic symptoms themselves, the risk factors for violence by people with psychotic illness are similar to those for the rest of the population, and include being young and male, having a background of crime and/or violence, substance misuse, personality disorder, brain injury, and socioeconomic deprivation.3