Stanley W Booth M.B.E.
NIAAS Scheme Manager
IASW/NIASW Adult Mental
Health Social Work
Conference
‘Human rights and mental health in a family
context the challenge for social workers’
MindWise is a leading
mental health charity
with 35 service across NI
In 15 venues
touching upon 1500 lives per day
Is mission statement ;TRANSFORMING LIVES AND
DEVELOPING NEW VISIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH
BY CHALLENGING STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION,
AND PROVIDING QUALITY SERVICES AND SUPPORT.
Learn more at www.mindwisenv.org
MindWise Services
Community Resource Centres
Belfast-Ballyclare-Banbridge-DownpatrickLurgan-Newry- Portadown
Advocacy Support Services
Community Bridge Builder Support Services
Volunteer Support Services
Community Support Services
Six various housing services
The Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult
service
Quotes;One of the strongest qualities I have found is MindWise’s ability to
operate at a local level free from the constraints that often prevent
statutory bodies from implementing developments as quickly as they
would like. (A Commissioner)
The Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult Scheme
is a member of The National Appropriate Adult Network
We support people in Police custody who are vulnerable
PROTOCOL BETWEEN
THE POLICE SERVICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND (PSNI),
MINDWISE, AND HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUSTS
FOR THE OPERATION OF
THE NORTHERN IRELAND APPROPRIATE ADULT
SCHEME (NIAAS)
INFO
SHARED / GAINED
NIAAS PROCESS
Detainee ßà
C. Officer
Detainee booked in &
C. Officer Risk Assessment
Stage 1
IDENTIFYING IF
AA NEEDED
Juvenile
Yes – AA
Needed
No – NFA
Person with care
issues –
C. Officer to contact
S. Services if
necessary
Adult with mental
illness / mentally
vunerable







Circumstances of arrest
Personal details
Any health issues
Read/write
Any welfare issues
Alcohol/drugs issues
S.75 issues
No – NFA
Is parent / guardian /
S. Services willing &
available?
Stage 2
Yes - NFA
ENGAGING
MINDWISE
No – C. Officer
contacts NIAAS
Switchboard
 C. Officer contact number
 Station
 Case number (NICHE)
C. Officer
Switchboard
 Ref NIAAS
Reporting Form
 “Traffic Lights”
H/M/L Mechanism
Switchboard Operator
calls AA on rota
AA ßàC Officer
AA calls C. Officer
(i) Witness detainee (e.g. if not fit for interview)
(ii) Pre-Interview chat
(iii) Supports during Interview / Fingerprints /
DNA / VIPER – if VIPER postponed, ID Time /
station & then C. Officer will arrange
ATTENDING
CUSTODY SUITE
AA records
Hardcopy of
advice / support
Stage 4
RECORDING
DETAILS/
FOLLOW-UP
C. Officer ßàAA
ßàDetainee
 Forms AA1 & AA2 &
Custody record
 Role (or not) of AA
 Clarify if issues
understood
 Any S. Service et al issues
AA àMINDWISE
 Ref NIAAS
Reporting Form
AA attends Station re:
Stage 3
C. Officer does prerelease assessment
taking on board AA
proposals
Detainee
released /
Detained
overnight
AA completes IT record [PROTECT]
& submits hardcopy record to HQ
HQ compile data / monitor /
take action where necessary
KEY
AA
C. Officer
NFA
NIAAS
S. Services
Appropriate Adult
Custody Officer
No Further Action
Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult Scheme
Social Services
When it goes wrong- Mitrice Richardson
•
A 24-year-old woman who was arrested on September 17,
2009, in Malibu, California, after she was reportedly intoxicated
and unable to pay her $89 bill at a local restaurant.
•
Her car was impounded after officers found marijuana.
•
She was released from the Agoura Hills Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department just a few hours later and vanished.
•
•
In the months that followed, Richardson's family and friends
were involved in a search.
Family members were critical of the L.A. County Sheriff's
Department for releasing Richardson in the middle of the night.
They also questioned whether Richardson
•
“should have been held for a mental health evaluation after she
acted bizarrely at the restaurant.“
•
Richardson's remains were discovered in Malibu Canyon on
August 9, 2010.
Safeguarding juveniles under 18 years
and mentally vulnerable people of any age
in police custody, by supporting them and
considering their mental health, human rights
and general welfare.
HOW ?
by ensuring Police comply with legislation
The Police & Criminal Evidence (NI) Order
1989/2009 (PACE)
and the code of practice on how to deal with detained
people
In year 2 NIAAS team responded to 1392 requests across 17 police
custody suites,365 days a year, between 8am-11pm, with an overnight
call out available 11pm-8am for exceptional circumstances.
Since launch June 2009 we have accompanied 3200 people.
What we discovered
During this reporting period 808 people were identified as
vulnerable, falling within one of the categories listed below.
This equates to 62 % of all people supported, including young
people who were primarily recorded as vulnerable by virtue of
age but who further exhibited mental health concerns.
400
349
350
300
250
200
139
134
150
108
100
50
34
28
16
0
Autistic
Learning Literacy
Spectrum Difficulties Difficulties
Mental
Health
Issues
Other
Self Harm Other not
identified
disclosed
health
issues
Research suggests 64% of sentenced prisoners have
personality disorders, with this rising to 78% for
remand prisoners .
So the appropriate Adult encounters many issues in
the Police custody environment.
N. Ireland over 20% of children under 18 years suffer
significant mental health problems.
Young people in custody 46%- 81 % found to have
mental health problems .
Woodland Young Offenders Centre-A Criminal justice
report found 30 young people examined ;- 17 had self
harmed, 8 had attempted suicide at least once,8 were
on child protection registed,14 had educational
needed (these overlapped each other )
Personality disorders
are also identified
Avoidant
Obsessive
Compulsive
Dependant
Depressive
Passive aggressive
12 Personality
Disorders
affecting the
detained
persons
perceptions.
Paranoid
Schizotypal
Histrionic
Schizoid
Narcissistic
Antisocial
Borderline
A mentally-ill man who spent 27 years in jail for a murder
he did not commit has been finally freed.
57-year-old Sean Hodgson who suffers from a personality disorder,
was jailed for life in 1982 after being convicted of murdering
Teresa de Simone, a 22-year-old clerk who worked part-time
behind the bar in the Tom Tackle pub in Southampton.
Her body was found in her Ford Escort car on
December 5 1979. She had been raped and strangled
The court heard that Hodgson, had
made several confessions
but was a compulsive liar
who had also admitted to two murders
which had never taken place.
Social workers also fulfil this role.
Why?
Corporate Parent ( Looked after children )
Under Article 18 of the Children (NI) Order 1995, each Trust has a
general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in
need within its area. In doing so, Trusts and their staff have a legal
and ethical duty to provide looked after children with the kind of
support that any good parent would give to their children.
NIAAS now train Social workers in the Appropriate Adult role to
assist them when they are required by law to act for a child in care
etc.
The role of an Appropriate Adult
Advise the person being questioned, such as the need for a Solicitor
Facilitate communication between Police and the detained person
Ensure person understands his/her rights
Observe whether or not the interview is being conducted properly
Present when searches are taking place and consent is given
Present when fingerprints, photographs, and samples are taken
Present during identification procedures
Present when and if the person is being charged
Confirm person understands what will happen next.
Vulnerabilities encountered by staff
A range of mental health conditions,
Autism spectrum disorder,
Personality disorders,
Bi-polar disorder,
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Schizophrenia
A learning disabilities / difficulties
Communication difficulties
Self-harming behaviour
Eating disorder or abuse of alcohol & drugs
All the above can be part of a "dual /multiple diagnosis” creating
complex needs.
Training
Staff are accredited
and hold a OCN Appropriate Adult Certificate
to National Standards.
The National Appropriate Adult Network (NAAN)
Staff have also trained in a range of disciplines relating to
the role of Appropriate Adult.
Safeguards -what if ?



NO Tapes
NO Solicitor.........
NO Appropriate Adult....
any concerns ?
Lets try a sample exercise, if I
was the Appropriate Adult ?
Scenario
Its Monday morning at 8.45 am and the call centre has received 4 calls, from 4 different police
station mile apart all case are pending. You are the only person available;How would you prioritise these four cases?
Tom is 17 and arrested for car theft last night at 3am,he is juvenile .His mother won’t attend
the station ‘she’s had enough’. His father is in prison. Tom has a long criminal record. The
custody sergeant tells you Tom is covered in cut marks and he has a history of self harm.
Jill is 27 years old and has is being held on suspicion of aiding and abetting murder, as part of a
major investigation. The Police Sergeant advises you Jill is giggling and finds the whole thing
funny; she is flirting with the officers at the station. In her property she has 3 copies of the
same Robbie Williams album receipts show she purchased tall three ,she keeps asking for her
mobile phone to check if the party is still on tomorrow night.
James is a 35 year old man who fought with Police after ‘stabbing his television set’ because it
shouted at him. He has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but his medication ran out on Thursday
he has been drinking over the weekend. Police now wish to interview him for assault on Police.
Paul is 14 years old and has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) he is suspected of
indecent assault on a girl aged 13 years (his girlfriend as far as he’s concerned). His mom and
dad are in London right now and Police need to interview him today.
21
Questions and Discussion.
Thank you