In a lot of police forces, the form for medical assessment of someone under arrest contains three boxes to be ticked or crossed, as appropriate.  It asks the doctor or nurse whether someone is – Fit to be detained Fit to be questioned Fit to be charged We instinctively understand the importance of these assessments […]

Obviously, we think principally of the Mental Health Act in terms of it providing a legal framework for healthcare.  We don’t immediately think about people committing offences contrary to the Mental Health Act.  There are only a few, all listed towards the end of the Act but they have come in useful for me on […]

I’ve been trying to think how to draw a one-page diagram of how I think Liaison and Diversion should work for several years!  Bearing in mind that nationally, we don’t have an agreed model on this and my previous views that some models we have seen miss the (legal) point however good they may be […]