Therapists' Obligations to Report Their Patients' Criminal Acts

Abstract

The law governing the obligation of therapists to report their patients' previous criminal acts was reviewed. Most often, discussions of this subject fall under the general category of “misprision of a felony,” that is, the presumed general obligation of all citizens to report felonies that come to their attention. Review of federal law revealed that the courts have consistently interpreted the federal misprision statute as requiring active concealment of a crime, not a mere failure to report, in order to convict for the offense. State law is more diverse. Only one state has a general misprision statute labeled as such, and several states have recently repealed such statutes. The strong trend in states without statutes is to reject misprision as a common law crime, becuase of its incompatibility with modern notions of justice. Most states, however, have limited reporting statutes, such as for child abuse or gunshot wounds, that Impose similar obligations. Therapists' reporting of past crimes may be affected by clinical and ethical concerns, as well as by obligations to protect future victims. In almost all jurisdictions, however, the fear of prosecution for failure to report a past crime should not be a factor in deciding on a course of action.