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The purpose of this paper is to critically review the current police training and criminal justice policy regarding the treatment of suspects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the initial stages of the criminal justice system (CJS), and provide potential policy reform and areas for further research.

By reviewing extant literature, research and policy documents, this paper provides a critical review of the current policy and training for dealing with suspects with ASD in the current CJS in England and Wales for suspects with ASD.

This paper proposes that current policy and police staff training is insufficient during all initial stages of the criminal justice process. Although there are emerging policies and schemes which are promising, they require further research and national participation. Policy reform and improved training is required to ensure minimal opportunities for miscarriages of justice to those individuals with ASD.

This paper provides a chronological journey through the initial stages of the CJS in England and Wales for a suspect with ASD, and the challenges that they may face. Suggestions are made based on criminological and psychological research to remedy the potential opportunities for miscarriages of justice.

This paper describes the current guidance in the Police and Criminal Evidence (NI) Order and associated codes of practice as they relate to the detention and questioning of juveniles and vulnerable adults. The provision of appropriate adults services is described with reference to a recent research study and recommendations made in the Criminal Justice Review, commissioned as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

The purpose of this paper is to show the development of Appropriate Adult services in Scotland over the past nine years and considers how this differs from the rest of the UK.

New analysis of existing statistical information is provided to show pattern of demand, type of interview, nature of mental disorder involved and regional differences.

Growth in demand for services is identified for both suspect and witness interviews, with people with learning disabilities most frequently receiving support. There is significant variation in the pattern of referrals across Scotland.

The results reflect heightened awareness amongst police officers of the need for Appropriate Adults, but there should be examination of the different types of provision to promote equity of service.

This is the first time that these figures have been collated and subject to analysis. They provide comparative information within Scotland that is also of relevance to the rest of the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the outcome of referrals made to one police force in England by three local authorities between March 2010 and April 2011, in order to identify and understand the barriers to prosecuting suspects of abuse or harm against vulnerable adults, and improve inter-agency co-operation.

All referrals to this police force are given a crime number when they are recorded on the Criminal Justice System database together with a vulnerable adult flag and a status code which indicates the outcome following a police investigation. A search of the database using the vulnerable adult flag identifies the total number of referrals and outcomes for the selected period. This can then be imported into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to allow further analysis to take place.

Over 87 per cent of all referrals of alleged abuse to vulnerable adults made to this police force did not establish that a crime had been committed. Of those that did only 1 per cent resulted in either a caution or court proceedings.

This is a small sample from one, predominantly rural, police force.

The benefit of this research is that it contributes to a greater knowledge of the outcomes of adult safeguarding referrals made, primarily, by local authorities to the police and how police disclosures, on Disclosure and Barring Service checks, are being used as a means of providing employers of regulated activities with information on individuals who have been suspected of abusing vulnerable adults.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Registered Intermediaries are used in the England and Wales to facilitate communication between vulnerable witnesses, victims and police investigators and criminal courts.

The paper focuses on the need for early identification of the vulnerable person so that support measures can be put in place from the outset to assist them to provide their testimony.

It is noted that real progress has been made by the introduction of legislation, specifically the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999), and the uptake by the police service of the subsequent special measures put in place. However, the criminal justice service cannot afford to be complacent as research demonstrates that the police and the courts need to be more effective in managing these issues.

The paper recommends that support measures are widened to include witnesses and suspects being interviewed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, HM Customs and Revenue, the Department of Health and the Department of Work and Pensions.

This paper's aim is to examine the interaction between an intermediary, a vulnerable defendant and barristers and the judge in a courtroom. The paper seeks to consider how the communication needs of vulnerable defendants, such as those with learning disabilities, should be addressed in the criminal justice system.

The paper considers the legal landscape for dealing with vulnerable defendants. A case example and court and police interview transcripts are then used to illustrate some of the communication needs of vulnerable people in the criminal justice system.

The paper highlights the complexities of the language that is used by lawyers in the courtroom and the difficulties that this can cause for a vulnerable defendant. Additionally, this paper reveals the difficulties that the police caution can present to a vulnerable suspect in custody.

Vulnerable witnesses or defendants may be disadvantaged in understanding questions and the implications of answers that they provide in a courtroom or in attendance at a police station. The criminal justice system should support these individuals and provide guidance and training to professionals. The author identifies a need for more research in this area.

This is one of the first published papers to examine the interaction between an intermediary, a vulnerable defendant and barristers and the judge in the courtroom. The paper considers how the communication needs of vulnerable defendants should be addressed in the criminal justice system.

The purpose of this paper is to find out how intermediaries interpret their role working with vulnerable defendants at court.

In this study six intermediaries who have worked with defendants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview and the interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Intermediaries appeared to be trying to make sense of their developing identities as professionals in the courtroom and this theme is conceptualised through social identity complexity theory.

Health and care professionals undertaking a new function in the criminal justice sector should receive training about the psychological processes underlying developing professional identities. Such training should reduce the cognitive load when they work in the new environment and failure to undertake this training may lead to less efficient practice. Gaining an understanding of their professional positioning within the court environment may assist with retention of intermediaries in this new role.

This is the first published study where intermediaries have been interviewed about their experiences with defendants. Recommendations are made including the requirement for additional training for intermediaries to understand the underlying psychological processes and conflicts they may experience when working with defendant cases.

High-stake crime investigations include cases such as murder and rape. The purpose of this paper is to outline the components of an interview strategy for suspects. In the UK, these interviews are often managed by Interview Managers who are tasked with developing effective interview strategies with the aim of ensuring all parties involved in the interview process are dealt with ethically and legally using research-based methods.

This practitioner paper is based on the experience of the authors who have provided advice and support during high-stake crime investigations both nationally and internationally using the research-base to underpin their practical advice.

To be effective, a suspect strategy constructed by an Interview Manager in high-stake crime investigations should be designed within a framework that covers the provision of strategic advice on research-based interview processes including: co-ordination of the interview process, monitoring of the interview process and evaluation of the interview process.

To ensure interviews are effectively managed during high-stake crime investigations, the suspect interview strategy must be developed to a professional standard to allow for quality assurance and outside scrutiny.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first published paper that outlines the nature of a suspect strategy that is based on a Framework consistent with elements of the UK National Occupational Standards.

This paper aims to critically evaluate contemporary Irish police practice, with an emphasis on emergent procedural innovations, in light of the needs of suspects with intellectual disabilities.

A review of published prevalence data in respect of people with intellectual disabilities in the Irish criminal justice system, of the Irish legal and policy landscape and the results of a recent empirical inquiry are used in critical evaluation.

In line with extant international research, the article identifies three sites of concern with respect to the protocols that exist within An Garda Síochána for identifying and responding to intellectual disability, including: (1) barriers to communication; (2) a need to build awareness and skills for police and persons with intellectual disabilities; and (3) a need for institutional change to secure equal access to justice for people with intellectual disabilities. Progress is being made at a systems level towards a human rights approach in Irish policing.

In representing the first international analysis of its kind, the article locates the barriers confronting suspects with intellectual disabilities in Ireland within a discourse that is sensitive to ongoing research-led, procedural reforms within An Garda Síochána (Ireland's national police service). Owing to the universalised nature of these barriers across policing systems internationally, the format of these reforms from this will be of relevance to many other policing states, in particular the 162 other signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First to ascertain the efficacy of current police reception screening to detect detainees with intellectual disability (ID). Second to assess the validity of a short targeted screen for ID among police custody detainees.

The study comprised three stages. First, 248 police custody detainees were assessed for a range of health morbidities, including a pragmatic clinical evaluation of ID. For those with suspected ID, the police custody screens were scrutinised for evidence that this had been detected. Second, a new police health screen, incorporating a short screen for ID, was piloted. Totally, 351 detainees were assessed in the same way as in part 1 with the new screens being scrutinised for evidence that ID had been detected where relevant. Third, the new police screen for ID was validated among a sample of 64 inpatients, some with ID and some without, from forensic inpatient services. Parts 1 and 2 were carried out in the Metropolitan Police Service, London. Part 3 took place in one NHS Trust.

In parts 1 and 2, the rate of detainees with suspected ID was 2-3 per cent. The standard police screen detected 25 per cent of these detainees in part 1. When the new screen was introduced in part 2, the sensitivity for ID increased to 83 per cent. However, there was no requisite improvement in the proportion of detainees with ID receiving an Appropriate Adult. In the inpatient study, the new screen showed a good level of sensitivity (91 per cent) and reasonable specificity (63 per cent).

It is possible to improve the detection rate of detainees with suspected ID by introducing a short ID screen into the police custody officers’ reception health screen.

The Health Screening of People in Police Custody (HELP-PC) study is a project evaluating screening for health morbidity among police custody detainees. Other data from this study have been reported elsewhere, but this is the first time the data pertaining to ID screening has been reported in detail.