The police surgeon's view Medical paternalism is unacceptable

Police surgeons (otherwise known as forensic medical examiners in metropolitan London and forensic medical officers in Northern Ireland) are mostly general practitioners, and they may see both the victims and the perpetrators of violent and sexual assaults. They may be asked to attend accident and emergency departments and sometimes paediatric wards in order to assist with the documentation of injuries, the compilation of police statements, and to conduct joint examinations with paediatricians in cases of alleged physical and sexual child abuse.

Police surgeons may also see those accused of such assaults, who may themselves be injured, with a view to establishing their …