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The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), now in its 175th year, has a
long tradition of working with doctors. In fact, the origin of the forensic physician
(police surgeon) as we know him or her today, dates from the passing
by Parliament of The Metropolitan Act, which received Royal Assent in June
of 1829. Since then, there are records of doctors being “appointed” to the
police to provide medical care to detainees and examine police officers while
on duty.
The MPS has been involved in the training of doctors for more than 20
years, and has been at the forefront of setting the highest standards of working
practices in the area of clinical forensic medicine. Only through an awareness
of the complex issues regarding the medical care of detainees in custody
and the management of complainants of assault can justice be achieved. The
MPS, therefore, has worked in partnership with the medical profession to
ensure that this can be achieved.
The field of clinical forensic medicine has developed in recent years
into a specialty in its own right. The importance of properly trained doctors
working with the police in this area cannot be overemphasized. It is essential
for the protection of detainees in police custody and for the benefit of the
criminal justice system as a whole. A book that assists doctors in the field is
to be applauded.
