Metropolitan Police - Working together for a safer London

Metropolitan Police Careers

A unique environment for World-Class Forensic Healthcare.

Custody Nurses

Being a Custody Nurse is different from any other role you may have encountered in your nursing career. You’ll be checking whether detainees are fit to be interviewed, retrieving forensic samples as well as administering medication, so you’ll need life skills as well as nursing experience and qualifications. This role will be a vital part of the wider criminal justice process and ultimately you’ll be helping to make London a safer place.

Custody Nurse Practitioners

c.£35k progressing to £45k*
ref number 16628

Role overview

Looking after the health, safety and welfare of detained persons held in police custody, you'll provide an effective forensic service, conduct clinical assessments, identify appropriate interventions, collect forensic samples and maintain accurate records.

Full role details

You’ll be dealing with detained persons and in many cases this will mean looking after people with drug and alcohol problems. Activities will include gaining consent for healthcare interventions, conducting forensic examinations, looking after minor injuries and administering medications. As well as advising on the fitness of individuals to be detained, interviewed, transferred or released from police custody, you may also be required to conduct intimate body searches physical examination, obtain forensic samples and to verify life extinct in suspicious and non-suspicious circumstances.

You will be the equivalent of a band 6 in the NHS, will need good interpersonal skills, and your experience may have been gained in A&E, community practice nursing or the prison service. You must be a registered general nurse.

Please note, the application form is evidence based and will require you to provide specific examples to the competency area in the question.

To apply, please download a role specific information pack, application form and posting preference form. If you have any further queries please contact our Recruitment Call Centre, Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm, on 0845 727 2212, quoting reference number 16628.

Completed applications must be returned by Friday 27 August 2010.

Please note, document macros must be enabled.

* Depending on location and shift allowance

Download information pack, application form and posting preference form


Custody Nurse Practitioner - Area Managers

Please note we are not currently recruiting for this role. Please visit this site regularly for details of the next recruitment campaign.

Role overview

Providing an effective, efficient forensic nursing service to the Metropolitan Police Service, you will provide professional advice and guidance, monitor performance, address service delivery issues and develop working practices in liaison with internal and external stakeholders.

Full role details

You will be in charge of a team of Custody Nurse Practitioners. You and your team will provide clinical assessments of detained persons, gathering the information to identify appropriate interventions and health and safety risks. Specifically, this will involve obtaining consent for healthcare interventions, providing forensic examinations, looking after minor injuries and administering medications. As well as advising on the fitness of individuals to be detained, interviewed, transferred or released from police custody, you may also be required to conduct intimate body searches physical examination, obtain forensic samples and to verify life extinct in suspicious and non-suspicious circumstances.

You will be the equivalent of a band 7 in the NHS, with excellent interpersonal and team leader skills; your experience may have been gained in A&E, community practice nursing or the prison service.


About the Met

As one of the largest employers in London, our people come from all walks of life and carry out many different roles using a wide variety of skills and experience. In addition to the frontline officers who police our streets, 14,000 police staff support us carrying out key tasks ranging from answering emergency calls, to caring for the people detained within Police custody. We're committed to creating a police service that fully reflects the diverse, multicultural city we serve. So it's essential that all employees are sensitive to, and have a genuine respect for the capital's many different communities.


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Eligibility requirements

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