Introduction

Forensic physicians (FPs) attend police custody suites to advise on immediate medical care for detained persons (DPs) and on any need for ongoing care during the detention period. They may be asked to assess adults' or juveniles' fitness for detention following arrest, to conduct a mental health assessment where custody is the place of safety, to examine children brought to a place of safety under a Police Protection Order, to advise on those detained by Immigration and to give medical guidance for those on remand or sentenced. Detained persons may need to be interviewed and/or charged and are commonly held overnight for court.

Guidance for the police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is provided in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Revised Codes of Practice under the Act are published from time to time by the Stationery Office in, respectively, London and Belfast. Medical advice should be sought for those:

• apparently suffering from a physical or mental illness;

• needing assessment of problems related to substance misuse including alcohol;

• who require medication;

• injured before or during arrest;

• who may be suffering from an infectious disease;

• who request a doctor;

• discharged to custody from hospital.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 allows for clinical attention to be given by an appropriate healthcare professional (HCP) but, as this chapter is written primarily as guidance for doctors working in the custodial environment, it is written in the second person.