ABSTRACT
This chapter develops sociology of the mentally disordered offender it is inevitable that we must deal with the sociologies of both mental disorder and crime. The sociology of the mentally disordered offender is based on the notion of difference, but it is well recognised that this difference is both complex and chaotic. The mentally disordered offender is, thus, conceptually an amalgamation of theories pertaining to offending and theories pertaining to mental disorder. It constructs from psychiatric terminology and a criminal act but it is the power of this compound that produces the social construction of dangerousness. The mentally disordered offender is first and foremost based on 'pathology of the monstrous' and it is this monstrousness that provides the leverage for psychiatry to penetrate criminology. The sociology of deviance has grown steadily over the century with numerous professional disciplines involved in its exploration. These sciences would include sociologists, anthropologists, criminologists, social psychologists, and psychiatrists.
