Supervision as an intervention with mentally disordered offenders: some observations

The supervision of mentally disordered offenders at risk of harm to themselves or others is universally practised, but there is little research evidence in the literature as to how, in what circumstances, with which patients, to what end and with what results for the patient and/or staff. This article reviews the available evidence on the practice and calls for evidence based guidelines for the role inherited by nurses to inform effective practice. It concludes:• empirical evidence is lacking on the supervision of mentally disordered offenders as an effective nursing intervention• there is evidence of ambiguity as regards psychiatric nursing interventions• supervision of mentally disordered offenders is subject to covert and inconsistent practice• there is a need for research on which to base training, skill mix decisions and the general management of supervision.