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He's Just Not That Vulnerable: Exploring the Implementation of the Appropriate Adult Safeguard in Police Custody
Author(s) -
DEHAGHANI ROXANNA
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the howard journal of crime and justice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2059-1101
pISSN - 2059-1098
DOI - 10.1111/hojo.12178
Subject(s) - safeguard , vulnerability (computing) , criminology , identification (biology) , relation (database) , sociology , political science , law , computer security , computer science , botany , database , biology
This article examines the treatment of vulnerable suspects in police custody, with particular emphasis upon how the police define vulnerability in relation to adult suspects. Drawing upon qualitative data produced through observation of and interviews with custody officers (COs) at a custody suite in England, the article will explore why the appropriate adult (AA) safeguard is often left unimplemented. It builds upon previous research on the identification of vulnerability, but goes further by also addressing how vulnerability is defined. In discussion, the article draws upon legalist, culturalist, and structuralist arguments to offer explanations for non‐implementation of the AA safeguard.