From suicide prevention to homicide prevention: lessons from the epidemiology of psychiatry

This event will explore what the epidemiology of suicide and homicide can teach us about preventing serious violence. Professor John Crichton will draw on his research into homicide, including studies of homicides committed by people in contact with mental health services and a detailed study of homicide in Scotland, to examine the striking role of the domestic kitchen knife in fatal violence.

Speaker: Professor John Crichton

John will consider parallels with suicide prevention, where restricting access to highly lethal means has produced substantial reductions in deaths, and ask whether the same principles of situational prevention can be applied to homicide. John will then look at the evidence for safer kitchen-knife design and the potential role of mental health services and wider public policy in reducing knife harm.

Schedule:

• Welcome & Introduction – Pamela Taylor, Crime In Mind
• Presentation
• Questions and discussion
• Close

Associated Reading: The Safer Knives Group: Record of the Reducing Knife Harm conference held at the Royal College of Psychiatrists on 20th November 2025.