Conceptualising vulnerability in police custody

Dr Roxanna Dehaghani, Lecturer in Law, Cardiff School of Law and Politics, will be examining what 'vulnerability' can and should mean in the context of the criminal investigation, with reference to how it is defined for the purposes of the appropriate adult safeguard. It thereby considers how 'vulnerability' in this context is conceptualised by legislation, within case law, and by police custody officers.

The paper also offers a reconceptualisation of the vulnerable suspect, through an examination of the impact and very nature of police detention and the implications of the broader criminal process as mechanisms that reduce resilience (and possibly deliberately so).