Interfacing with police in the pediatric emergency department.

In summary, ED staff and local police departments should make a concerted effort to work together. The ED director should develop management protocols in conjunction with local police chiefs to plan strategies in advance. It is helpful to provide "orientation sessions," so that each group of professionals knows what to expect of the other. It may also be helpful to arrange tours of the ED so that police know where to go when they are called to the ED. All of these efforts should foster better care of children in the ED and will reduce tensions between the dedicated groups who work with such children.