Nursing in Justice and Forensic Health
Use this guide to find information resources about nursing in justice and forensic health including books, reports and journal articles.
Last updated:
01/05/2025
Key Resources
House of Commons Justice Committee (2021) Mental health in prison: fifth report of session 2021–22. London: House of Commons.
NHS England (2022) The Mental health nurse’s handbook.
National Offender Management Service and NHS England (2020) Working with personality disordered offenders: a practitioner’s guide.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Learning Lessons reports.
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These publications identify lessons to be learned from Prisons & Probation Ombudsman independent investigations.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (2024) The Long wait: a thematic review of delays in the transfer of mentally unwell prisoners.
Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody and The Â鶹ÊÓƵ (2020) Avoidable natural deaths in prison custody: putting things right. London: IAPDC
Nursing in Justice
CED Joint Working Group (2021) Conducted Energy Device (CED): at a glance guidance for ED Clinicians. London: The Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine.
Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (2021) Neurodiversity in the criminal justice system: a review of evidence. London: CJJI.
Davies M, Rolewicz L, Schlepper L and Fagunwa F (2020) Locked out? Prisoners' use of hospital care. Research report: Nuffield Trust.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales (2022) The Annual report of HM Chief Inspector of prisons from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. London: HMIP
Joint Unions in Prisons Alliance (JUPA) - Safe inside.
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The Joint Unions in Prisons Alliance (JUPA) was set up in response to ongoing concerns about the safety of staff working in prison environments to seek improvements to working conditions in prisons so that staff can feel 'Safe Inside'.
Mental Health Foundation (2022) How to look after your mental health in prison: a guide written for male prisoners.
NHS England (2023) A review of health and social care in women’s prisons.
NHS England (2022) Health and justice framework for integration 2022-2025: improving lives – reducing inequality.
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NHS England Health and Justice is responsible for commissioning healthcare for children, young people and adults across secure and detained settings.
Northern Ireland Audit Office (2019) Mental Health in the criminal justice system. CDS
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The report examines the pathways through which offenders will progress when they come into contact with the justice system.
UK Health Security Agency (2022) Acute respiratory illness, including flu and COVID-19 in prisons.
NHS England and NHS Improvement (2021) Meeting the healthcare needs of adults with a learning disability and autistic adults in prison. London: NHS.
Prison Reform Trust (2024) Bromley briefings: prison factfile winter 2024. London: Prison Reform Trust.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (2019) Safer prescribing in prisons, guidance for clinicians. London: RCGP.
Forensic Health Care
NHS Scotland: Forensic mental health services managed care network.
Royal College of Psychiatrists (2018) Prison mental health in Northern Ireland (CR219). London: RCP.
Scottish Government: Forensic mental health.
We would like to thank the RCN Nursing in Justice and Forensic Health Care member community for their input into the development of this subject guide.
Nursing in Justice
Brooke J (2023) Nursing in prison. Cham: Springer. 
Matheson J, Patterson J, and Neilson L (eds.) (2020) Tackling causes and consequences of health inequalities: a practical guide. London: CRC Press. 
Phipps E, O'Moore E, Plugge E and Hard J (2024) Prison medicine and health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
Walsh E and Norman A (2014) Nursing in criminal justice services. Keswick: M and K Publishing. Forensic Health books
Blumenthal S, Wood H and Williams A (2018) Assessing risk: a relational approach. Abingdon: Routledge. 
El-Genady E (2015) Forensic mental health nursing and criminal justice system. Saarbrücken: Lap Lambert Academic Publishing. 
Faugno D K, Mitchell S A, Sievers V, Pederson S L, Volz J M and Speck P M (2022) Introduction to forensic nursing: principles and practice. St. Louis: STM Learning, Incorporated. 
Naidoo S R (2023) Interpreting medical findings in sexual contact and abuse: a reference handbook for legal and health practitioners. Cape Town: Juta & Company, Limited. 
Pollock P (2015) Cognitive analytic therapy for offenders: a new approach to forensic psychotherapy. London: Routledge. 
Rogers A, Harvey J and Law H (2015) Young people in forensic mental health settings: psychological thinking and practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 
Scannell J M (2018) Fast facts about forensic nursing: what you need to know. New York: Springer Publishing. 
Stark M M (2020) Clinical forensic medicine: a physician's guide. Cham: Springer. Book subject searches
Use these links to see details of books the RCN libraries hold on each topic.
Nursing in Justice journal articles
Use these links for details of journal articles on each topic.
Forensic Health journal articles
Use these links to see details of journal articles on each topic.
Nursing in Justice journals
Journals of interest for Nursing in Justice.
Forensic Health journals
Journals of interest for Forensic Health.
Exhibitions
RCN exhibition: Prison nursing unlocked: A history of care and justice. -
Explore the fascinating history of health care in prisons, from the work of early reformers like Elizabeth Fry to the vital contribution that nurses make to prisoner health today.
View online exhibition
Special collections
Our Permanent Collection consists of nursing specific core items and rare items, and as such is viewable by appointment only. Here is a small selection of items from our collection.
Rowe J (1927) John Howard: prison reformer and philanthropist. London: The Epworth Press.
Smalley H (1902) Prison hospital nursing: being a manual of first aid and nursing for the prison hospital staff. London: HMSO.
Historical journals
Nursing Record/British Journal of Nursing (1888-1956)
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Digitised journal available online.
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Article: (no author) (1922) Editorial: HM Prison Nursing Service, British Journal of Nursing, 25 Feb, p.111.
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Article: (no author) (1925) Lecture on prison nursing, British Journal of Nursing: Royal British Nurses Association supplement, November, p.234-235.
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Article: (no author) (1909) The Elizabeth Fry League, British Journal of Nursing, 18 December, p.495-496.
This subject guide relates to:
Lee Kattenhorn
Editor of this guide
RCN Library and Museum
Upcoming events relating to this subject guide
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26 Feb 2026
Edinburgh
Prison Nursing Unlocked: A history of care and justice: exhibition launch (Hybrid)
Join us for the launch of our new exhibition about the history of prison nursing. Enjoy free refreshments and a chance to look around the exhibition, alongside activities and talks on nursing in justice settings.
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27 Feb 2026 - 30 Sep 2026
Edinburgh
Prison Nursing Unlocked: A history of care and justice: exhibition
This exhibition explores the fascinating history of healthcare in prisons, from the work of early reformers like Elizabeth Fry to the vital contribution that nurses make to prisoner health today.
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28 May 2026
Edinburgh
Care in custody: In conversation with nursing teams working in justice (Hybrid)
What is it like working as nurse in justice settings? And what to such nurses do? Join our panel of Nurse of the Year finalists who will share their experiences of working in justice settings, and how they have worked to innovate and respond to the unique challenges the sector presents.
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20 Aug 2026
Edinburgh
The fight for the vote: suffragettes and nursing (Hybrid)
Conditions in prisons were thrown into the spotlight by the wider battle for women’s rights. Join our speakers to explore nurses who were suffragettes, arrested and imprisoned.
Page last updated - 01/05/2025
