A white paper “Managing Dangerous People with Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD)” was published the same year (1999) and it proposed to detain and treat mentally disordered offenders who pose a significant risk of harm to others and themselves.
The white paper stated that 2,00-2,400 people in England and Wales were estimated to have DSPD, (98% men).
HMG set aside £126m over three years to develop the new services, £70m for prisons £56m for the NHS.
The term DSPD is unique to England & Wales has no medical meaning and no research basis.
The scheme was strongly opposed by most psychiatrists, but it went ahead.
