Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.
Int J Legal Med. 2012 Jan;126(1):27-35. doi: 10.1007/s00414-011-0557-6. Epub 2011 Mar 8.
Worldwide, there is a high risk of medical complications or death in police custody. This risk is often increased by unclear legislation, a lack of clearly defined responsibility and medical examination standards. Any solution to these problems requires as a very basis the systematic analysis of the medical examinations that determine whether a person is fit to be detained in custody. We analysed a total of 3,674 medical records on fitness for custody, taken from two large German towns (Halle/S and Bremen). The examined individuals were predominantly males or of a younger age. The indication in the majority of cases was acute alcoholic intoxication or drug withdrawal syndromes. Traumata and internal or mental diseases were also quite frequent. For approximately 50% of all cases, fitness for custody was declared on certain conditions. Only 39.8% were found to be unconditionally fit for detention in custody. In just under 10% of the cases, the person was found unfit for custody. These cases concerned mainly persons with psychological symptoms and advanced alcohol or drug withdrawal syndromes. We were able to show that the recent introduction of new police custody regulations in Halle/S had a significant influence on the medical decision on fitness for custody. Our detailed assessment has provided us with the basis to develop solutions for the improvement of medical care in police custody. The focus lies here on the organisation and legal regulation of the medical aspects of custody but also on policing and medical work.
在全球范围内，被警方拘留的人都存在发生医疗并发症或死亡的高风险。这种风险通常由于立法不明确、缺乏明确界定的责任和医疗检查标准而增加。解决这些问题的任何方案都需要以系统分析决定一个人是否适合被拘留的医疗检查作为非常基础。我们分析了来自两个德国大城市（哈勒/萨勒和不来梅）的总共 3674 份关于拘留适任性的医疗记录。被检查的人主要是男性或年龄较小。大多数情况下的指征是急性酒精中毒或戒断综合征。创伤以及内部或精神疾病也相当常见。大约 50%的所有病例都是有条件地宣布拘留适任性。只有 39.8%被发现无条件适合被拘留。只有不到 10%的病例被认定为不适合被拘留。这些病例主要涉及有心理症状和严重酒精或药物戒断综合征的人。我们能够表明，哈勒/萨勒最近引入的新的警方拘留规定对拘留适任性的医疗决策有重大影响。我们的详细评估为我们提供了制定改善警方拘留期间医疗保健措施的基础。重点在于拘留期间医疗方面的组织和法律监管，但也包括警务和医疗工作。
