We are used to supporting County Community Projects with our donations of tinned and dried foods for which they are very grateful. They thought we would like this insight into another aspect of their work whilst we are remembering them this month.
One of CCP’s most heavily used services is that of the Appropriate Adult. Each year, we answer more than 500 calls to accompany juveniles held in police custody when their parents cannot, or will not, attend. The service, staffed entirely by trained volunteers, operates 365 days per year between 8.00am and 11.00pm at locations across Gloucestershire. The role of the Appropriate Adult is to monitor the rights and welfare of young people, some of whom can be as young as 11 or 12, whilst they are held in custody. The service is also available to vulnerable adults who may have mental health or learning difficulties and may not fully understand the reasons behind their arrest.
John Evison, a CCP Appropriate Adult volunteer who is “retiring” to spend more time with his grandchildren after almost 12 years on the role, recounts some memories from his time with CCP.
“I joined CCP as a volunteer in the autumn of 1997. It has always been rewarding to know that, at the very least, your presence enabled the custody procedure to be completed as quickly as possible, allowing the juvenile to be released and returned home. You always hoped to be able to say something which may have helped the juvenile to change the direction of their life. Every call, of course, is different. You never know what to expect and the following cases remain in my memory to illustrate that.”
“Once, I was asked to accompany a juvenile member of a notorious Gloucestershire gang while he was driven around Oxfordshire by the police, having agreed to cooperate by identifying ‘high society’ homes at which he had kept watch while the gang broke in and stole valuable artefacts.”
“On another occasion, a juvenile was reported to the police by a local shopkeeper for stealing a pot noodle and a packet of crisps, valued at £1.50, on his way home from school. He found himself arrested and locked in a cell, thereby involving two policemen, a solicitor, a member of the Crown Prosecution Service, and me, for several hours.”
“Finally, I have seen that our Police and Criminal Evidence Act offers offending juveniles, other offenders with mental health issues and learning difficulties, and people with an inadequate command of the English language, a fair hearing and treatment whilst in custody. I am proud to have been associated with that through CCP.”
For further information on becoming an Appropriate Adult volunteer, or to book a “Seeing is Believing” tour of our main services, contact CCP on 01242 228999, or visit our website at www.ccprojects.org.uk
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