Background Little is known about the reasons why people with schizophrenia have contact with police, especially prior to the first episode of illness. Aim To investigate the prevalence and correlates of police contact in first‐episode schizophrenia. Methods The prevalence and type of police contact was established among all 110 patients presenting to psychiatric services in one catchment area during a first episode of schizophrenia and among 65 non‐mentally ill controls, by participant and collateral interview and from records. Socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics were also recorded and the two groups compared. Results The first episode of schizophrenia patients had more contact with police than controls, despite the higher prevalence of conduct disorder symptoms among the controls. The patients were not, however, more likely to be incarcerated or arrested. Among the patients, over half of the police call‐outs occurred during the period of untreated psychosis. Positive psychotic symptoms were independently associated with police contact, after allowing for socio‐demographics. Conclusions As over a third of people in a first episode of schizophrenia had been in contact with the police – more than twice the proportion among non‐psychotic controls – and contact was associated with untreated positive psychotic symptoms, better early detection and treatment of psychosis seems indicated. In the meantime, police services may be playing an important role in reducing the duration of untreated psychosis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.