Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Secure Psychiatric Practice: Working with Difference. Edited By Charles Kay & Tony Lingiah. London: Jessica Kingsley. 2000. 284 pp. £47.50 (hb); £18.95 (pb). ISBN I 85302 695 6 (hb); ISBN I 85302 695 4 (pb)

A White middle-class Scot must approach issues of race and culture in forensic practice with uncertainty. This book aims to help clinicians like me and deserves a place in the libraries of forensic units. It is, however, fragmented and incomplete in its coverage, let down by its editing and presentation.

There are interesting contributions from users and reflections on practice described by professionals. Case vignettes bring issues to life. For me with two Muslim patients currently on my ward, the description of Islam and the experience of the visiting Imam to Broadmoor have been extremely helpful. An account of a social worker's experience alongside Asian women with mental health problems in the community is similarly illuminating, with valuable explanations of the importance of biradari (kinship) and izzat (pride) in how mental health difficulties are experienced.

Many forensic practitioners will read the title and immediately think of the debate surrounding the relationship between African—Caribbean origin, schizophrenia and offending activity. It is a daunting task to present a balanced review of this literature and the contributions here that attempt to address this topic are disappointing. The key chapter examining this relationship is a revised, updated and expanded version of a summary report first commissioned and published by the Mental Health Foundation in 1995. Long lists of publications do not encourage understanding of the important arguments involved, and more use could have been made of tables, summarising key findings. Several of the arguments and references are revisited in other contributions, but the authors do not appear to have had sight of these and cross-referencing is lacking.

Although the book has some effective illustrations that highlight cultural differences in, for example, art work, many of the graphs are poorly reproduced and difficult to interpret. References are confusingly cited and are sometimes inaccurate. Despite these reservations, I would encourage forensic practitioners to read this book. It contains some outstanding individual contributions, answers to specific cultural questions and provides resources to help address racial issues in secure services, in the form of policy statements and audit protocols from Broadmoor Hospital.