A message from Les Board of Hillingdon Mind:
I am looking to recruit possibly up to five new volunteer Appropriate Adults to start training asap. Candidates would have an informal interview at Mind office in Uxbridge. They must be mature, reliable, robust with lots of common sense and able to drive. We are on call from 0700 – 2300 seven days a week and I ask for all volunteers to do a minimum of two shifts per month that can be either days 0700 – 1700 or lates 1700 – 2300.
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You can contact Les on Tel: 07810 403166
or email Les@hillingdonmind.org.uk
The Background behind the Scheme
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and its accompanying Codes of Practice fundamentally reformed the law relating to the detention of persons and the investigation of crime. Special safeguards were introduced to prevent particularly vulnerable people, such as those with mental illness or learning disabilities, from giving unreliable, information which could lead to an unsafe conviction.
The experience of arrest and then detention in a police station can be extremely stressful for anyone and particularly so for someone with a mental health problem and or a learning disability. PACE specifically requires the police to identify anyone with such vulnerability and then ensure that an ‘Appropriate Adult’ attends the police station.
An ‘Appropriate Adult’ can be a relative, guardian, mental health professional, or a responsible adult aged 18 or over who is not employed by the police. Mind ‘Appropriate Adults’ come within the last category.