A declaration of the President of the Medical Board of Bologna (Italy) on the opening of "Residences for the Execution of Safety Measures" as alternative to Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals in Italy is published. This declaration was sent to the Italian Minister of Health and to the presidents of the XII Committee of the House of Representatives (Social Affairs), of the 12th Permanent Committee of the Senate (Health and Hygiene), and of the Central Committee of the Medical Boards of Italy (FNOMCeO). The closing of Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals is discussed, with the risk that legal responsibility on the part of the psychiatrist changes his/her role from patients’ care to social control and prevention of danger.
Keywords: Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals, psychiatrist’s legal responsibility, social control, relationship between care and custody, safety in psychiatry