The Southwark Police Surgeon Study 1978-1997: alcohol

This paper takes routine clinical data from one Forensic Medical Examiner's (FME) practice over 20 years in the London Borough of Southwark. The relationship of alcohol to gender, categories of call, and patterns of variation over time are addressed. Alcohol related calls are found to be significantly associated with males who are ill or injured, but not with victims or perpetrators of violence. There has also been significant increases in alcohol related calls over the study period. There is no evidence to suggest that was influenced by the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).