Evidence-Based Risk Assessment Screening in Police Custody: The HELP-PC Study in London, UK

The welfare of detainees in UK police custody is the responsibility of Custody Officers (COs). COs need to identify detainees who have significant health problems and require the attention of a health care professional. We piloted a new risk assessment screen in 2012 in a police custody suite in London, UK. Data were compared with our evaluation of the standard National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) risk assessment in 2009-10. We have demonstrated that a structured screen can improve the pickup rate of detainees with head injuries, physical and mental health problems, as well as those at risk of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. By consolidating health problems associated with elevated suicide risk, the detection of higher risk detainees was also significantly improved. The Metropolitan Police Service is planning to implement this risk assessment and we recommend a wide scale evaluation of its clinical impact and upon custody health services.