The use of the appropriate adult for mentally disordered suspects in the police station

315 Pages·2017·12.18 MB·English

Loughborough University
Institutional Repository
The use of the appropriate
adult for mentally disordered
suspects in the police station
ThisitemwassubmittedtoLoughboroughUniversity’sInstitutionalRepository
by the/an author.
Additional Information:
• A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial ful(cid:28)llment of the requirements
for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.
Metadata Record: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/8001
Publisher: (cid:13)c Teresa Nemitz
Please cite the published version.
This item is held in Loughborough University’s Institutional Repository
(https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/) and was harvested from the British Library’s
EThOS service (http://www.ethos.bl.uk/). It is made available under the
following Creative Commons Licence conditions.

For the full text of this licence, please go to:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/
`The Use the Appropriate Adult for Mentally Disordered
of
Suspects in the Police Station'.
By
Teresa Nemitz
A Thesis in fulfilment the Regulations Higher Degrees
of governing
by Research
Loughborough University.
of
Supervisor:
Philip Bean
---Professor
The Midland's Centre for Criminology Criminal
Justice
and
Department'of Söciäl Sciences
ABSTRACT
The discussed in this thesis the first to the the
research was analyse use of
Appropriate Adult for disordered in
the
mentally adult suspects police
The the Appropriate Adult how,
station. role of raises questions about and
disordered be detained
under what circumstances should mentally suspects
interviewed in the The Appropriate Adult is the
and police station? only
for disordered during their
special protection provided mentally suspects
detention interrogation. The Appropriate Adult's function is
and role and
defined in Code C the Police Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The
of and role of
the Appropriate Adult is to that the the
ensure suspect's rights are respected,
the involved that the to
suspect understands procedures and police adhere
the Code, thereby the the
minimising risk of police obtaining unreliable
from the false The data in this thesis
evidence suspect e. g. confessions. shows
that the the Appropriate Adult is
use of rarely used.
Out the 20.805 in four in three
of study of custody records police stations
during 1992, it found that Appropriate Adult
police areas was an was used
for 38 disordered The
only mentally adult suspects. research also showed
that least further 448 have had
at a mentally vulnerable suspects should an
Appropriate Adult for them. Some the the
called of reasons why
Appropriate Adult is in doing
protection neglected are examined and so
false
many socio/legal questions are raised such as: confessions, miscarriages
justice, the to the `right to ' the
of amendment silence, confidentiality, roles of
the last but least,
custody officer, solicitors and police surgeons, and not the
function the Appropriate Adult. While there is
role and of growing concern
about the ability of persons asked to act as Appropriate Adults the thesis
includes Appropriate Adult Scheme
that
a case study of a volunteer provides
issues
some answers to the many raised and points the way to future
development those detained interviewed in the
of suspects and
police station.
Acknowledgements.
I like to thank the following for their
would advice, co-operation and support
for the this thesis is based, firstly, Lydia Sinclair,
research upon which
who was
the Legal Representative for MENCAP, the funding impetus
who provided and
for the Appropriate Adults, this thesis is based. Also
research on upon which
included Ian Bynoe the Legal Representative MIND; Camilla
are, who was of
Parker MIND; Barrie Irving the Police Foundation Chief
the
also of of and
Constables Derbyshire, Lincolnshire S. Yorkshire
of and who gave permission
for to the
me conduct research.
Special thanks is due to the Custody Sergeants
all and other police officers who
to be interviewed helped in during time in
agreed and many other ways my
their
police stations.
There have been family, (especially Mary her
many other people, my sister and
husband George) friends, have listened for
colleagues and who patiently many
Appropriate Adult,
the
years about mentally vulnerable suspects and my
thanks for their kindness My thanks to Professor Herschel
and concern. also
Prins for his thoughtfulness in journal
sending me copies of papers and
to this
newspaper cuttings relevant research.
My thanks to Deidre Lombard, Department Social Sciences
also
of
Administrator, for her help Ann Smith,
the typing this thesis, to
with of and
Christine Mosley Vivian Dhaliwal, the Department Social Sciences
and of
Secretaries, for their kindness,
patience and assistance with computer
during final
technology the this thesis.
printing of
Finally, my grateful thanks to Professor Philip Bean, the Supervisor this
of
thesis, without whose encouragement, advice and support this thesis would not
have been
completed.
And, last but least, thanks to Luke, for his faith in
not my my son support and
to this thesis.
me and my ability complete
For
my son,
Luke
".... illness in
of any sort was considered
Erewhon to be highly immoral. "
criminal and
Samuel Butler
Erewhon 1872
CONTENTS.
Page
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
Chapter 2. Literature Review 22
Chapter 3. Socio/Legal Questions 89
Chapter 4. Research Methods 124
Chapter 5. Results 157
Chapter 6. Additional Results: The Role Custody
the
of
Officers, Police Surgeons Legal Advisers 200
and
Chapter 7. A Volunteer Appropriate Adult Scheme:
A Case Study 216
Chapter 8. A Summary Discussion Main Findings 244
the
and of
Chapter 9A Broader Context
266
Bibliography
281
APPENDIX.
Research Questionnaires
294
CHAPTER 1
THE APPROPRIATE ADULT: AN INTRODUCTION
The Problem Stated.
in is determine how
The this to
main aim research and under what circumstances
from disorder learning difficulties interviewed in
are people suffering mental and/or
formal Appropriate Adult. A formal for
the
a setting, with assistance of an setting
the this thesis
purposes of means a police station.
for
There formal interviews take
are other settings where such might place,
in Special Hospitals by
example, when patients claim assault a member of staff or
interview by for
another patient, or even an a psychiatrist the purpose of preparing a
Court. However, formal life
to the the changing
report one of most and potentially
is
is interview by in
contexts an the police the police station, an environment which
intimidating both features
the
and controlling; of which are essential of police
itself. The formal interview deliberately
the
station police emphasises unequal
between lies
the the the the
status police and suspect power with police.
-
1991).
(McConville
et al
Clearly, the problem is a large one; in terms of the numbers of mentally disordered
it is 7%
estimated that of all suspects who pass through a police station are mentally
ill, 3% handicapped, 1 2% from brain damage
are mentally and or are suffering
(Gudjonsson G. 1993). Gudjonsson (ibid) between 15
that
eta! et al estimated
-
20% 'disadvantaged', in
they to this
of suspects were what call and what are referred
thesis 'vulnerable'. The to be is be
as question asked what protection can provided
for these how is it? One in
vulnerable suspects and effective solution provided
England Wales is for Appropriate Adult (or AA from be
to
and an now on) present
1
during interviews. It be is
police will the purpose of this thesis to ask what extent
that is it if how it be improved?.
protection used, adequate, and not can
A Legal Overview.
There is definition the Appropriate Adult that
no clear or accepted of except which
is defined in law. One is by issues
approach way of an analogy when are raised
in Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA 1983). What does in
the
about consent consent
instance Philip Bean
this that
mean? states
-
"The (of is
the to to
principle consent) aimed at assisting patient come a considered
decision, " (Bean, 1986 136).
the
not about protecting medical practitioner. p:
Just informed is in law, formal interview
the
as concept of consent recognised so a
(suspect) is from incapacity
of a person who recognised as suffering some or
is Appropriate Adult i.
the to
vulnerability, recognised as needing assistance of an e.
decisions in
arrive at considered or answers to questions which this case means
interviews. To Philip Bean declares
the
about police continue with analogy
the
regarding concept of consent
-
is behalf informer
"... the to
consent about a moral commitment on of provide
information the decision be " (Bean, 136, ).
upon which can made. p. op. cit.
It is here becomes Just
that the analogy apparent. as the concept of consent as
defined in 1983 MHA, issue, by Appropriate
the the the
as a moral so protection
Adult fill The formal interviews
to
was created a moral vacuum. police of
is issue issues
vulnerable people also a moral and so too are about what the
Appropriate Adult do. The AA have brought
should, or should not procedures
into focus how be
sharply treated, they
vulnerable people are, or should whenever
interviewed formally.
are
2