Sophie Davison

The management of opiate addicts in police custody.

Many suspects detained at police stations for questioning are under the influence of illicit drugs. This presents a problem, as the reliability of confessions made under the influence of drugs or whilst experiencing withdrawal symptoms may be adversely affected. This paper reviews the current management of opiate addicts in police custody and relevant legislation in the UK to highlight some of the difficulties that arise. It concentrates in particular on the specific problem of defining and assessing fitness for interview in this group and reviews the current evidence of the effect of opiates and opiate withdrawal symptoms on the reliability of testimony. It concludes that any framework for the assessment of fitness for interview must address the question of reliability. More needs to be known about the effects of opiates and opiate withdrawal symptoms on the reliability of testimony in the police interview situation.

Psychological distress and severity of personality disorder symptomatology in prisoners convicted of violent and sexual offences

Abstract Background: There have been recent proposals in England and Wales to develop services aimed at reducing the risk to the public posed by offenders with so-called “severe personality disorder”. The emphasis of the proposals is on risk. However, prisoners with personality disorder may have psychiatric treatment needs other than those purely relating to public protection. The aim of the study was to examine the association between severity of self reported personality disorder pathology and psychological distress in serious offenders. Method: All male prisoners in two prisons, convicted of violent or sexual offences, were sent the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire 4+(PDQ−4+) and the Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90-R). Results: High levels of self reported personality pathology were associated with high levels of psychological distress. Conclusions: Offenders with the most severe self reported personality disorder pathology experience distress that may be clinically significant. Services for offenders with personality disorder will need to address their associated psychiatric symptoms.

The problem of interviewing drug addicts in custody: A study of interrogative suggestibility and compliance

Abstract The interrogation of drug addicts in custody presents a problem. The reliability of confessions made either under the influence of drugs or during drug withdrawal may be adversely affected. This study explores the effect of drug use and drug withdrawal on interrogative suggestibility and compliance. These two psychological factors are relevant to erroneous testimony. The interrogative suggestibility and compliance of heroin addicts on an inpatient drug unit were measured on opiates, whilst withdrawing from opiates and drug free. The interrogative suggestibility and compliance of the group of subjects as a whole did not differ significantly in these three conditions. However the results did suggest that a subgroup of vulnerable individuals may have been more suggestible when under the influence of opiates. Further work is needed to clarify these results and to aid professionals assessing fitness for interview and cases of retracted confessions.

The Impact of Contact With Suicide-Related Behavior in Prison on Young Offenders

BACKGROUND Prison suicide rates are high, and suicide-related behaviors (SRBs) higher, but effects of contact with such behaviors in prison have not previously been examined. AIMS To compare the mental state of young men witnessing a peers suicide-related behavior in prison with that of men without such experience, and to test for factors associated with morbidity. METHOD Forty-six male prisoners (age 16-21 years) reporting contact with anothers suicide-related behavior in prison were interviewed 6 months after the incident, with validated questionnaires, as were 44 without such contact at least 6 months into their imprisonment. RESULTS Significantly higher levels of psychiatric morbidity and own suicide-related behaviors were found in the witness group, even after controlling for their higher levels of family mental illness and pre-exposure experience of in-prison bullying. Some personal factors were associated with higher morbidity; incident and institutional factors were not. CONCLUSIONS Findings of heightened vulnerabilities among young men exposed to suicide-related behaviors in prison suggest a need for longitudinal study to clarify temporal relationships and inform strategies to prevent or limit development of morbidity and further harm.