Margaret Stark and a team of authoritative experts offer a timely survey of the fundamental principles and latest developments in clinical forensic medicine. Topics range from sexual assault examination to injury interpretation, from nonaccidental injury in children, to crowd control agents. Also included are extensive discussions of the care of detainees, the management of substance abuse detainees in custody, the causes and prevention of deaths in custody, and the fundamentals of traffic medicine. In the absence of international standards of training, the authors also address the basic issues of consent, confidentiality, note-keeping, court reporting, and attendance in court. Comprehensive and authoritative, A Physicians Guide to Clinical Forensic Medicine offers forensic specialists and allied professionals a reliable, up-to-date guide to proven practices and procedures for a every variety of police inquiry requiring clinical forensic investigation.

The publication of this third edition of the definitive text on clinical forensic medicine comes at an exciting time for a subject now gaining recognition as a speciality in the medical establishment. This growing acknowledgement reflects the fact that increasing numbers of health professionals are becoming engaged in general forensic services. Nurses and paramedics are more involved than ever in custody care, while nurses themselves are conducting more examinations in cases involving alleged sexual offences. Thus it is vital that those caring for this vulnerable group of patients (whether detainees or complainants) have the tools to master this specialist set of skills. All the chapters in this new edition have been fully updated, with some undergoing extensive revision. Recent developments in child protection protocols have prompted a major rewrite of the chapter on non-accidental injury, and the text now includes a specific chapter on the use of the TASER. Other aspects of restraint are now dealt with separately. The material on care of detainees and fitness for interview has been split into individual chapters to allow a more comprehensive discussion of the issues. In addition, new authors have joined the team of contributors, facilitating a wider range of international perspectives. From its chapters on the history and core principles of clinical forensic medicine, right up to the text's discussion of substance misuse and deaths in custody, this volume remains the gold standard source for health professionals whose working lives bring them into contact with those in the law enforcement arena.

Margaret Stark and a team of authoritative experts offer a timely survey of the fundamental principles and latest developments in clinical forensic medicine. Topics range from sexual assault examination to injury interpretation, from nonaccidental injury in children, to crowd control agents. Also included are extensive discussions of the care of detainees, the management of substance abuse detainees in custody, the causes and prevention of deaths in custody, and the fundamentals of traffic medicine. In the absence of international standards of training, the authors also address the basic issues of consent, confidentiality, note-keeping, court reporting, and attendance in court. Comprehensive and authoritative, A Physicians Guide to Clinical Forensic Medicine offers forensic specialists and allied professionals a reliable, up-to-date guide to proven practices and procedures for a every variety of police inquiry requiring clinical forensic investigation.

This updated volume on clinical forensic medicine covers the topics required for forensic healthcare professionals working in general forensic medicine and sexual offence medicine. All chapters have been reviewed and revised to reflect how the provision of forensic medical services has changed since the previous edition with multidisciplinary teams working in the custodial environment, comprising doctors, nurses, and paramedics and those practitioners providing sexual offence examinations. New and updated topics include: the increasing importance of photo documentation by health care professionals; updated information on strangulation, torture; a review of bite mark injuries; the explosion of Novel Psychoactive Substances worldwide; the changing patterns of deaths in custody and deaths following police contact; and the introduction in various jurisdictions of legal limits for drugs based on zero tolerance or a risk based approach. Written by a team of experts, the new edition of this book is a valuable resource for forensic healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and paramedics working in general forensic medicine and sexual offence medicine, as well as emergency physicians, pediatricians and gynaecologists.

The misuse of drugs is now so widespread that it affects, either directly or indirectly, a high proportion of the population, impacting upon many areas of daily life. The consequences for individuals, families and the wider community can be devastating. The second edition of this handy pocket-sized reference provides an up-to-date, accessible and authoritative guide to the symptoms and signs of drug misuse and the basic principles of treatment for many of the most commonly encountered substances such as heroine, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis, alcohol and ecstasy. Any specialist medical terminology used in the book is clearly explained for the lay reader in the glossary, and where appropriate, the legal aspects of substance misuse are highlighted, with reference to the most recent legal statutes, making it an ideal book for medical and non-medical specialists alike.