‘Fitness for interview’ during police detention: A conceptual framework for forensic assessment

Abstract

In recent years suspects detained at police stations are increasingly being questioned by forensic medical examiners and psychiatrists to assess ‘fitness for interview’. However, fitness for interview is not a phrase that appears anywhere within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and there are no established criteria for judging it. In this article the author discusses a case involving a mentally ill patient where fitness for interview was a central issue in court. Even though all legal provisions in accordance with PACE were adhered to by the police and the interviews were conducted in ‘an impeccably fair and considerate way’ the interviews were ruled inadmissible by the trial judge. This judgment was given in spite of the fact that two doctors, both of whom testified at the trial during a voire dire, had found Mr S fit to be interviewed by the police. The case highlights the salient legal, psychiatric and psychological issues involved and provides an important conceptual framework for assessing fitness for interview in cases of mental disorder.

Key Words:

• fitness for interview
• confessions
• mental disorder
• vulnerability
• assessment