Background: When forensic-psychiatric patients are dismissed from inpatient treatment, forensic aftercare is applied. While there is some knowledge about personality-related variables of patients referred to forensic aftercare units associated with forensic psychiatric clinics, it is unclear as to whether a patients' migration status might systematically influence the selection process for forensic aftercare. Objectives: If both the legal prerequisites and clinical principles of forensic psychiatric treatment are adequately implemented on the wards, the following key data should be essentially the same for non-migrants and migrants: inpatient treatment duration, criminological background, main psychiatric diagnoses, and the offence leading to detention. Materials and methods: From N = 3,070 (complete survey of forensic inpatients in Baden-Württemberg from 2009 until 2013) n = 610 patients treated according to section 63 of the German Penal Code were released and investigated. 206 patients had a migration background, and a total of 285 individuals were referred to forensic outpatient units. Results: The duration of stay did not differ. In comparison to non-migrants, migrants had more often been diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The pre-conviction criminological load of migrants was lower. Conclusions: The threshold for migrants to be treated in the forensic psychiatric system might be different compared to non-migrants. The principles of transcultural psychiatry should be taken more seriously, especially with respect to the treatment of migrants diagnosed with personality disorders.

Forensic outpatient treatment Forensic aftercare Forensic psychiatry Risk assessment Migration background

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