Under the 2010 Equality Act, the AA safeguard clause could be considered a “reasonable adjustment” that would allow the suspect to exercise and enforce his or her right to a fair trial.98 The law requires public authorities, including the police, to consider the impact of their decisions and policies on persons with protected characteristics.99 With regard to the AA guarantee, section 20 of the 2010 Act requires appropriate accommodations for persons with disabilities.100 The type of adjustments relevant to AA coverage – the first and third requirements – is set out in § 20, paragraphs 3 and 4. The first requires that appropriate measures be taken to avoid discrimination where a “determination, criterion or practice” places a person with a disability at a significant disadvantage compared to a person without a disability. Thirdly, appropriate measures must be taken to provide assistance where the absence of such assistance would disadvantage persons with disabilities compared to persons without disabilities. However, to be eligible for accommodation under section 20, the person must have a disability defined as “a significant and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to perform normal daily activities.”101 This would therefore include entitlements to age-related adjustments, as well as requests for adjustments due to circumstances such as stress and bereavement. and any condition, which are not considered a “disability”. This would exclude juvenile suspects and able-bodied adults from the scope of the AA safeguard clause. The 2010 law also leaves open the type of aid and does not make it clear who should be the decision-maker. This should be determined and regulated by law if AA is to be considered an “appropriate accommodation”. If the police were required to have a duty under section 20, questions might arise about the independence of the environmental assessment. Although the Equality Act provides a basic framework for reforming A.A. protection, its scope and application are limited.
If your legal representative is concerned about your mental health, they can ask the health care provider for a mental health assessment. To do this, you must give your permission to your legal representative. The role of the appropriate adult in Scots law differs from that of England and Wales. Appropriate adults facilitate communication between police and adults (16 years of age and older) with mental health issues. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is defined as “any mental illness, personality disorder, learning disability, however caused or manifested”. In practice, these are people with acquired brain injury, autism spectrum disorders or dementia. It is important to note that A.A. may not provide legal advice.
This is the role of the lawyer or the legal representative of the commissioner`s office. However, the Foreign Office may require the presence of a lawyer, even if a person has waived his or her right to legal representation. Your AA can call legal counsel for you, even if you don`t want one. Your AA may do this if they think it is in your best interest to speak to legal counsel. But you don`t need to see a lawyer if you don`t want to. Alternatively, in an indictment (i.e. in Crown Court), the jury was ordered that the confession was made by a person who was “mentally handicapped” in the absence of an “independent person”. However, this presupposes that (i) the person is considered “mentally disabled” (a more restrictive definition of “vulnerable person” under Code C) and (ii) no independent person was present (for the purposes of Article 77, a lawyer or legal representative may also be an independent person).
Your equivalent adult (AA) should speak to the sergeant in custody if they feel the police are treating you badly. Your appropriate adult (AA) is there to make sure you understand what`s going on. And why it happens. You can: An appropriate adult is someone who will help you if you are stopped or questioned by the police. This section explores what an appropriate adult can do and who can get their support. This information applies to adults with mental illness in England. It is also for their loved ones and caregivers and anyone interested in this topic. This was no doubt the result of the contribution of the National Appropriate Adult Network (a charity that oversees the delivery of A.A. in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man).
See Home Office and National Appropriate Adult Network, “Guide for Appropriate Adults” (Home Office and NAAN 2011), accessed September 3, 2019; Home Office, “Guidance for Appropriate Adults” (Home Office, 2003) accessed November 5, 2019. All children should have an appropriate adult to support them if they are arrested and are in a police station or questioned by the police. An eligible adult may be a parent, guardian, social worker, friend, parent or caregiver over the age of 18 who is not a police officer or employed by police.1 In some areas, there are adult volunteers who have received special training. A parent should not be an appropriate adult if they are the victim or witness or if they are involved in the investigation of the crime,2 or if they have distanced themselves from the child and the child expressly refuses the presence of the parent.3 The police must notify you if your corresponding adult (AA) is with you. The police should repeat your caution when telling you if your AA is not with you. Harriet Pierpoint, « Reconstructing the Role of the Appropriate Adult in England and Wales » (2006) 6 Criminology and Criminal Justice 219. Pierpoint`s research has examined various aspects of the role of AA, such as: professionalization (Pierpoint, “Expanding and Professionalizing” (n 37)); delays in obtaining A.A. (Harriet Pierpoint, “Quickening the PACE: The Use of Volunteers as Appropriate Adults” (2008) 18 Policing and Society 397); differences between Young Offender Teams (YTs) in terms of service delivery and, therefore, in the nature and quality of A.A.`s role (Pierpoint, “A Survey” (No. 36)); Harriet Pierpoint, “The Performance of Volunteer Appropriate Adults: A Survey of Callouts” (2001) 40 Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 255), in particular their selection and preparation, where she also discussed the impact on human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 (Pierpoint, “As Appropriate” (No. 36). However, it should be noted that Pierpoint`s work focuses only on young suspects and therefore does not consider AA, including its interpretation, in relation to adults. In summary, the respective adult`s most important roles and responsibilities during these processes are: Your AA cannot give you legal advice.
You can have both an AA and a lawyer. Much more is known today than in the 1980s, when this protection was introduced, not only about adolescent neuro- and emotional development, mental health, learning difficulties and difficulties, acquired brain injury and neurodiversity, but also about how these different aspects and characteristics may affect the suspect`s ability to participate in criminal proceedings.114 Although this article explores Human Rights Framework possibilities, Much remains to be done to determine whether and, if so, how the safeguard clause could be reformed. This requires an explicit commitment to human rights and equality frameworks, and above all raising questions about who is vulnerable and why, and how exactly the safeguards will address it. In line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it may be preferable that the views of children and adults with disabilities be duly taken into account in any discussion of reform.115 The protection of adult suspects could also be designed through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
