Starting in 2026, patient data on individuals placed in forensic psychiatric care under section 63 of the German Criminal Code will be  collected and evaluated annually throughout Germany as part of the CONNECT study. The study will be scientifically supervised by the Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry at Rostock University Medical Centre under the direction of Prof. Birgit Völlm. The study is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG project number VO 2685/2-1) and builds upon the Section 63 reference date survey conducted in the early 2000s. It is also based on the annual survey on section 64 patients (“§ 64 Stichtagserhebung”), which has been collecting clinical, legal and socio-economic data on section 64 patients for many years.

The data collected includes information on age, educational and living situation, psychiatric diagnoses, treatment measures and legal framework conditions. In addition, data from the Federal Central Criminal Register is used to investigate reoffending after discharge. All information is processed in pseudonymised form, thereby ensuring that no conclusions can be drawn about individual persons or hospitals.

The CONNECT study provides the first nationwide overview of patients admitted under section 63 of the German Criminal Code. The main research interests are the trends in patient characteristics and lengths of stay over time, the identification of factors associated with easing restrictions and discharges as well as with reoffending, and the analysis of group-specific differences, such as between men and women or among patients with a migration background.

By doing this, we are making a decisive contribution to quality assurance, the further development of forensic care, and the development of evidence-based, effective treatment options for forensic patients. Additionally, it improves our understanding of a patient group that has often been overlooked in public perception. The results of the CONNECT study are published in open-access journals and are therefore available to researchers and interested members of the public. The study therefore creates the scientific basis for fair, transparent and sustainable care in forensic psychiatry.

Click on the linked words to have a look at the survey manual of the pilot study, the list of variables and the list of psychotropic drugs.