Conceptualising and identifying vulnerability and interpreting the appropriate adult safeguard

Although the role of the Appropriate Adult (AA), first introduced via the Police and Evidence Act through its Codes of practice (Home Office, 1984; Nemitz and Bean, 2001), is an essential mechanism within our Criminal Justice System (CJS), decades of research highlight the role is critically misunderstood, making implementation inconsistent through England and Wales (Jessiman and Cameron, 2017). The AA function has been investigated through psychology and law discourse, with a consensus that vulnerable adults, those identified as vulnerable in custody over the age of 18, are continuously disadvantaged as a result of misinterpreting PACE, misunderstanding vulnerability and thus missing the detection of vulnerable persons, leaving them with no AA safeguard (Nemitz and Bean, 2001).
Through use of mixed methods, the study will go further than existing literature which can be limited in their scope and real-world application, past AA research being too concerned with the inspection of custody records or reviewing the interview tapes, perhaps due to easier access. However, it is crucial to gain a clearer picture of the AA role and its implication for vulnerable suspects and employing both quantitative and qualitative research allows for this. Currently, I am finishing my Master's degree in Forensic Psychology, my dissertation subject of choice being AAs, I am currently researching the perceptions of vulnerability, and interventions made by Police Officers and AAs in supporting vulnerable suspects at custody. My Masters research employs a mixed methods approach, using quantitative surveys, including vignettes, and semi structured qualitative interviews analysed through reflexive inductive thematic analysis, exploring further the perceptions of vulnerability and how they may influence the decisions officers and AA's make at custody to the advantage, or disadvantage of the vulnerable suspect.
For the proposed study and PHD opportunity, I would aim to construct the quantitative research in a similar way, through use of Qualtrics (www.qualtrics.com) as it allows for full customisation of the survey, how the questions are displayed to participants, and for its ease of exporting the data into SPSS, for data cleaning and analysis, including relevant parametric and nonparametric tests and tests of reliability and validity on the newly built survey. Using Qualtrics is also highly beneficial in that the survey is easy to disseminate. I have currently, and previously, employed remote methods of interviewing participants, such as on Microsoft teams, or via telephone, as I have found this a generally favourable approach for my participants, who have a demanding job through their AA or Police officer duties, and similar approaches may be beneficial for the current study too. Using Constructionist Grounded Theory in this study, allow the reader of the disseminated research to fully appreciate the lens in which data was viewed, and analysed, and meaning of the interviews and data will be cocreated between myself and participants (Mills, Bonner and Francis, 2006).
On completion of this project, I would hope to provide an updated understanding to vulnerability to custody officers, AAs, and other key stakeholders nationwide. Based on the results of the study there will likely be a need for policy reform, allowing for a clearer, more digestible guidance on how to assess vulnerability at custody through amendments to PACE and the current vulnerability threshold test. I would aspire to disseminate findings to all police forces and AA schemes, to reengage in the conversation about vulnerability, and making sure those who need it, always have access to an AA.