Code C- General Definitions Flashcards
Q: What does the phrase ‘police detention’ mean?
Police detention is defined by s118 PACE which states a person is in police detention for the purposes of this Act if;
(a) he has been taken to a police station after being arrested for an offence or after being arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, or
(b) he is arrested at a police station after attending voluntarily at the station or accompanying a constable to it,
and is detained there or is detained elsewhere in the charge of a constable, except that a person who is at a court after being charged is not in police detention for those purposes.
Where a person is in the lawful custody of a person designated under the Police Reform Act 2002, as responsible for escorting or transporting him, he shall be treated as being in police detention.
Q: What does ‘vulnerable person’ mean?
Paragraph 1.13 Code C states:
‘Vulnerable’ applies to any person who, because of a mental health condition or mental disorder:
(i) may have difficulty understanding or communicating effectively about the full implications for them of any procedures and processes connected with
- their arrest and detention; or (as the case may be)
- their voluntary attendance at a police station or their presence elsewhere, for the purpose of a voluntary interview; and
- the exercise of their rights and entitlements.
(ii) does not appear to understand the significance of what they are told, of questions they are asked or of their replies:
(iii) appears to be particularly prone to:
- becoming confused and unclear about their position;
- providing unreliable, misleading or incriminating information without knowing or wishing to do so;
- accepting or acting on suggestions from others without consciously knowing or wishing to do so; or
- readily agreeing to suggestions or proposals without any protest or question.
Q: What does Paragraph 1.4 states?
If at any time an officer has any reason to suspect that a person of any age might be vulnerable, in the absence of clear evidence to dispel that suspicion, then that person shall be treated as such for the purposes of this Code.
Q: What must a custody officer or OIC do if is not known whether a person is vulnerable?
The Custody officer in the case of a detained person, or the OIC in the case of a person who has not been arrested or detained, shall ensure that reasonable enquiries are made to ascertain whether the person in question is indeed vulnerable.
A record must be made of the info gathered and this record must be made available to be taken into account by police officers, police staff etc… including solicitors, health care professionals, appropriate adults.
Q: Who are appropriate adults?
People who are intended to safeguard the rights, entitlements and welfare of the juveniles and vulnerable persons whilst they are in police detention.
Paragraph 1.7A sets out their particular responsibilities:
- support, advise and assist them when, in accordance with this Code or any other Code of Practice, they are given or asked to provide information or participate in any procedure
- observe whether the police are acting properly and fairly to respect their rights and entitlements, and inform an officer of the rank of inspector or above if they consider that they are not
- assist them to communicate with the police whilst respecting their right to say nothing unless they want to as set out in the terms of the caution
- help them to understand their rights and ensure that those rights are protected and respected
Q: What did the COA emphasise in the case of Aspinall relating to appropriate adults?
COA emphasised the importance of appropriate adults and said that an appropriate adult played a ‘significant role’ in respect of a vulnerable person whose condition rendered him liable to provide info which was unreliable, misleading, or self-incriminating.
Q: Who are juveniles for the purposes of police detention?
Those aged under 18.
Q: What if you cannot tell the age of a detained person?
Paragraph 1.5
Anyone who appears to be under the age of 18 shall, in the absence of clear evidence that they are older, be treated as a juvenile for the purposes of this Code and any other Code.
Q: What is the difference between ‘may’ and ‘shall’?
May- It is discretionary, you have a choice
Shall- Must, it imposes an obligation
Q: Who should appropriate adults be in the case of juvenile’s?
Paragraph 1.7 tells us who appropriate adults should be.
The appropriate adult’ means, in the case of a:
(a) juvenile
(i) the parent, guardian or, if the juvenile is in the care of a local authority or voluntary organisation, a person representing that authority or organisation
(ii) failing these, some other responsible adult aged 18 or over who is not:
* a police officer;
* employed by the police;
* under the direction or control of the chief officer of a police force; or
* a person who provides services under contractual arrangements (but without being employed by the chief officer of a police force), to assist that force in relation to the discharge of its chief officer’s functions,
whether or not they are on duty at the time
Q: Who should appropriate adults be in the case of a person who is vulnerable?
(b) person who is vulnerable
(i) a relative, guardian or other person responsible for their care or custody;
(ii) someone experienced in dealing with vulnerable persons but who is not:
* a police officer;
* employed by the police;
* under the direction or control of the chief officer of a police force; or
* a person who provides services under contractual arrangements (but without being employed by the chief officer of a police force), to assist that force in relation to the discharge of its chief officer’s functions,
whether or not they are on duty at the time
(i) failing these, some other responsible adult aged 18 or over who is other than a person described in the bullet points in sub-paragraph (b)(ii) above
Q: What does Guidance Note 1F add?
An appropriate adult who is not a parent or guardian, must be independent of the police as their role is to safeguard the person’s rights and entitlements.
If the juvenile’s parent happens to be a police officer, they can still act as their appropriate adult but they must not be connected in any way to the investigation.
Q: Who should not be an appropriate adult?
The following people should not be the appropriate adult:
- anyone who is suspected of involvement in the offence
- anyone who is the victim
- a witness
- anyone who is involved in the investigation in some way
- if someone has received admissions prior to acting as the appropriate adult
Q: When can a juvenile’s parent not be used as an appropriate adult?
If the juvenile’s parent is estranged from the juvenile in some way, then they should not be asked to act as the appropriate adult if the juvenile expressly and specifically objects to their presence.
Q: What if a social worker receives an admission?
Where professionals, such as social workers, are used as appropriate adults it may well be that they have a pre-existing relationship with the juvenile and they may have received admissions prior to being used as appropriate adults.
If so, they should not be used as their prior knowledge will create a conflict of interest.
