The 'new normal': framing vulnerability, entitlement and responsibility in police custody in austere times

In this chapter, the focus is on the use of voluntary 'appropriate adults' in police custody suites when detainees are judged to have issues with capacity. First of all we discuss the austerity context in which policing takes place and the increasing numbers of individuals identified as 'vulnerable' who come into contact with the police. Austerity is shown not only to have had impacts on police resources but also on who they are asked to police. Drawing on data from an evaluation of a voluntary service in the North East of England, the implications of vulnerability in a neoliberal society are discussed. Finally the chapter critically considers the development of a service relying on volunteers and make the case for a national statutory scheme.