# Police Custody L&D Practitioner > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for West London NHS Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/police-custody-landd-practitioner/c8fd0557-f66b-4021-87b5-4288dae62e9b - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/police-custody-landd-practitioner/c8fd0557-f66b-4021-87b5-4288dae62e9b.md ## Summary - **Status:** Archived / closed - **Employer:** West London NHS Trust - **Location:** St Bernard's Hospital - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Social worker, Mental health nurse, Mental health practitioner, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Allied health professionals - **Grade:** Band 6 - **Salary:** £45,953 - £54,254 per annum inclusive of HCAS (Inner) - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time - 37.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-10-22T22:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-10-09T08:51:12.131Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/London/Acton_Hammersmith/West_London_NHS_Trust/Community_Mental_Health/Community_Mental_Health-v8355096 - **Employer website:** https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Police Liaison and Diversion Practitioner to join our well‑established and progressive Liaison and Diversion service, based within Metropolitan Police custody suites at Acton and Hammersmith. Working in a fast‑paced, varied and sometimes unpredictable environment, you will play a vital role at the point of arrest, identifying mental health needs and vulnerabilities, and ensuring people are supported and diverted to the most appropriate health or social care services. Every day is different, offering excellent opportunities to build clinical expertise, confidence in autonomous decision‑making, and experience within the criminal justice system. We welcome applications from experienced mental health professionals including Mental Health Nurses, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and other allied health professionals (such as Speech and Language Therapists) who bring significant mental health experience and an interest in health and justice. If you are motivated, adaptable and want to make a real difference at critical moments in people’s lives, we would love to hear from you. ### Main duties of the job As a Police Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, you will provide proactive screening, assessment and brief intervention to individuals in police custody, identifying mental health needs, neurodiversity, learning disability, substance misuse and wider vulnerabilities. You will: Carry out same‑day mental state and risk assessments within police custody Gather collateral information from health records, partner agencies and professionals Advise custody staff and work closely with police and partner organisations Divert individuals into appropriate health, social care or third‑sector services where indicated Complete high‑quality clinical documentation, data collection and reports for courts to support informed decision‑making You will primarily work with adults aged 18+ but may assess children and young people when required. Practitioners work autonomously, often under pressure, within a non‑healthcare setting, and must demonstrate excellent communication, clinical judgement and risk management skills. This post does not involve carrying a caseload, acting as a care coordinator, or participating in CPA. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed. ### Applicant requirements You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. ## Person Specification ### Knowledge **Essential** - Effective written and verbal communication skills - Ability to use information technology systems in order to carry out duties - Ability to make comprehensive psycho-social assessments - Good report writing skills - Ability to make sound and safe risk assessments - Evidence of effective time management and organisational skills - Ability to work semi-independently with supervision and to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team - Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach that considers the needs of the whole person - Ability to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy, using good communication skills - Knowledge of current legislation relating to community mental health provision and forensic psychiatry (Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act) - Familiarity with research, reports and publications relevant to liaison and diversion. - Knowledge of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1884 and PACE Codes of Practice 2004 - Ability to promote service users' involvement ### Experience **Essential** - Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary/multi-agency team - A minimum of 2 years’ post-registration experience - Experience of crisis work and risk assessment/management - Application of the Mental Health Act (2007) and the Mental Capacity Act (2005) ### Qualifications **Essential** - Qualified Registered Mental Health Nurse with current registration or similar professional qualification, including SALT - Meaningful evidence of continuing professional development and post registration training ### Other Requirements **Essential** - Sickness (or attendance) record that is acceptable to the Trust; to be checked at interview - Declared medically fit by the Occupational Health department to perform the duties of the post - Capable of completing scrutiny of Police NPPV2 Vetting procedure for both Met and City forces - The post-holder must have the ability to understand and implement the Equal Opportunities Policy at a level appropriate to the job ## Documents - [oh requirements (pdf, 304.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=3067) - [candidate pack - updated (pdf, 888.3kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10680966) - [occupational health requirements (pdf, 376.0kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=3003) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references.