The decision-making process in Swedish forensic psychiatric investigations

Abstract

Forensic psychiatric investigations in Sweden can have a major impact on the choice of sentence in criminal cases. Previous research shows that the decisions in several forensic fields, including forensic psychiatry, can be affected in a negative way by factors not relevant to the case. In the present study, the decision-making process of forensic psychiatric investigations was explored by using semi-structured interviews with experts (n = 38) and analyzing these interviews thematically. The results showed that the decision-making process is both complex and iterative, where the experts use and shape a substantial amount of information to reach their decisions. The experts work in teams, which add both benefits and risks to the process, and feel that particularly time constraints may reduce the quality of their decisions. In summary, the decision-making process of Swedish forensic psychiatric investigations creates a potential for high validity, but also contains risks for bias effects that could warrant further mitigation.