A Survey of Volunteer Appropriate Adult Services in England and Wales

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA) s. 38(4)(a) required local authorities to ensure the provision of appropriate adults for young people and CDA s. 39(7)(a) provided that it was Youth Offending Teams’ duty to co-ordinate such provision. Bearing in mind the virtual absence of any guidance, the first published national survey of Youth Offending Team managers was conducted to determine the nature of appropriate adult arrangements. This article reports on the issues that emerged concerning management, protocols, recruitment and selection, training, monitoring and support, which will be of particular interest to those engaged in the establishment and maintenance of appropriate adult services. Of broader interest, this article concludes that as appropriate adult arrangements differ between Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) across England and Wales, the nature and quality of services for young people in police custody inevitably varies.