Vulnerability in Police Custody: Police decision-making and the appropriate adult safeguard

Politics & Social Sciences

Dehaghani, Roxanna

Social Sciences

Routledge

Vulnerability, the Accused, and the Criminal Justice System (Routledge Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice and Procedure)

Fairclough, Samantha

Mergaerts, Lore

This book provides a nuanced and timely contribution to the question of vulnerability in police custody. It addresses the implementation of the appropriate adult safeguard in respect of adult suspects and explores police decision-making in this context. Drawing on empirical research carried out in England, the work takes a socio-legal approach to examine how and why police custody officers implement or not the appropriate adult safeguard. The book’s core arguments are addressed within three parts. Part I examines how vulnerability is constructed philosophically and practically, firstly within the broader literature, thereafter at common law and in statute, and finally by police custody officers. Part 2 discusses how vulnerability is identified and how decisions are made in response to vulnerability. Part 3 critically assesses the theoretical understandings of police decision-making and criminal justice. Here it is argued that current theories on police decision-making hold explanatory power yet have significant shortcomings in relation to vulnerability and the appropriate adult safeguard. The book thus presents new theoretical insights and, on the basis of these insights, asserts that the current regime of regulation must be reconsidered, while police compliance may only be ensured if vulnerability is radically reconceptualised.

<p>Austerity continues to impact the criminal justice process in England and Wales: police numbers are down, the Crown Prosecution Service is in disarray, legal aid has been reduced, courts are closing and magistrates are leaving.Research into the criminal process usually focuses on England, however this book offers a rare insight into South Wales. Drawing on first-hand accounts of lawyers, police, suspects, and the convicted and their families, it uncovers how these affected individuals navigate the challenges caused by austerity, what has changed and what can be done to improve the system. This book is a reliable and evocative account of the reality of criminal justice in Wales.</p>

Experiences of Criminal Justice: Perspectives From Wales on a System in Crisis

Newman, Daniel

Bristol University Press

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