FITNESS FOR INTERVIEW DURING POLICE DETENTION - A CONCEPTUAL-FRAMEWORK FOR FORENSIC ASSESSMENT

In recent years suspects detained at police stations are increasingly being questioned by forensic medical examiners and psychiatrists to as sess 'fitness for interview'. However, fitness for interview is not a phrase that appears anywhere within the Police and Criminal Evidence A ct 1984 (PACE) and there are no established criteria for judging it. I n this article the author discusses a case involving a mentally ill pa tient where fitness for interview was a central issue in court. Even t hough all legal provisions in accordance with PACE were adhered to by the police and the interviews were conducted in 'an impeccably fair an d 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 salien t legal, psychiatric and psychological issues involved and provides an important conceptual framework for assessing fitness for interview in cases of mental disorder.