Challenges to the real-world delivery of brief alcohol interventions in the custody suite: qualitative study

The aim was to evaluate an innovative pathway in police custody suites that aimed to specifically address alcohol-related health needs through screening and brief interventions by police custody staff. This paper presents a qualitative investigation of challenges involved in implementing the pathway. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 22 staff involved with commissioning and delivering the pathway; thematic analysis of interview data was then undertaken.

An overarching theme highlights the challenges and uncertainties of delivering brief alcohol interventions in the custody suite. These include challenges related to the setting, the confidence and competence of the staff, identifying for whom a brief intervention would be of benefit and the nature of the brief intervention.

Our findings show that there is a lack of clarity over how alcohol-related offending can be identified in police custody, whose role it is to do that and how to intervene.