ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION This chapter explores key competencies, skills, and the knowledge base required for learning disability nurses working in forensic settings. Explicit links will be made to the NMC (2010) standards for competence, and the An Bord Altranais (2005) domains of competence that demonstrate how these prepare nurses for working in forensic settings. Forensic is an adjective, which, when used with other terms, has come to mean an activity that is linked to courts and criminal investigation. In relation to learning disabilities the term forensic is usually applied, although not always, to people who have offended and been dealt with by the courts. In relation to those who have not offended, the term forensic is often applied to people with learning disabilities who present a significant risk to others and who may commit an offence and those who have a significant history of self-injurious behaviour.
