Page 89 of The Scene of the Crime
‘Depends on the circumstances. PACE, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, states that anyone who is known or suspected to have a mental disorder or mental vulnerability must be interviewed with an appropriate adult present.’
‘Can a solicitor be the appropriate adult?’ Jessica asked.
‘It’s extremely rare, and only if they are not acting as a solicitor. I take it you are asking because you think Palmer might have ADHD.’
‘I know he has. It’s in his file. When Palmer was arrested as a juvenile for the attempted rape, he had an appropriate adult present during the interview. I think he should have had one for both the interviews with Anderson and Chapman.’
‘I don’t get what the problem is,’ Taff remarked.
‘If the police have breached their statutory duty to provide an appropriate adult, it could have serious ramifications in court.A judge could rule the interviews as inadmissible evidence,’ Guy told him.
‘Oh, shit. That’s not good,’ Taff said.
‘Anderson and Chapman may not be responsible for the error, though,’ Guy continued. ‘The Codes of Practice state that if the custody officer believes the detained person is a vulnerable adult, they must arrange for an appropriate adult to be present during the interview. But if Palmer or his solicitor didn’t mention his ADHD, how were they to know?’
‘But shouldn’t they have looked at his previous convictions before interviewing him?’ Diane asked.
Guy shook his head. ‘There’s no regulation that says you have to, and you might well only look at the more recent arrests and convictions anyway. Palmer’s been arrested several times since the attempted rape, both as a juvenile and an adult. Did he have an appropriate adult present for any of those interviews?’ he asked Jessica.
‘As far as I can see, only as a juvenile.’
‘Under PACE, when a juvenile is questioned by the police, the presence of an appropriate adult is required by law, so that may be why they were present, and it had nothing to do with his ADHD.’
‘Let’s hope so. Thanks, Guy. You’ve made me feel a bit easier about it,’ Jessica said.
‘Ultimately, any decision about the validity of the interviews would be down to the CPS or the judge trying the case. Watching Palmer in the interview, I would never have thought he had ADHD or any form of learning difficulty. He’s simply lying,’ Guy said.
‘But what if he is telling the truth?’ Jessica said. They looked at each other in surprise.
‘You can’t seriously think Chapman planted everything in Palmer’s flat,’ Taff said.
‘Of course not,’ Jessica said. ‘But some things about this investigation don’t make sense. We need to dig a bit deeper. Our priority now is to identify who has the other burner phone. I also want to review all the evidence from the De Klerks’ house and Palmer’s flat.’
‘Someone might have given the bin bag to Liam to dispose of,’ Guy suggested.
‘Palmer’s fingerprints weren’t on it, but there were also marks from the Sealskinz gloves,’ Taff added.
‘I’ll take swabs from the waistband of the trackie bottoms and the collar of the hoodie to test for the wearer’s DNA. If it isn’t Palmer’s, then it’s unlikely he dumped the clothing,’ Diane said.
‘Check if there’s any hairs in the hoodie. If there are, they can’t be Palmer’s, for obvious reasons. Taff, did you fingerprint the cistern cover?’
‘No. I didn’t think finding Palmer’s prints on it would prove anything.’
‘I’m interested to know if any marks from the Sealskinz gloves are on it.’
Taff sighed. ‘Sorry, Jess, I should have done that.’
‘Don’t be silly. None of us thought of it at the time.’ Jessica pulled a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to Taff. ‘DS Wood sent these over. They’re for the new locks on Palmer’s flat.’
‘I’ll go look at the cistern lid after this meeting,’ Taff said, putting the keys in his pocket.
‘Will he need a warrant?’ Diane asked.
‘Not if the one issued covers multiple entry. There will be a copy of it on HOLMES. I’ll have a quick look now,’ Guy said and went to his desk.
‘Palmer might have been holding the phone and other stuff for someone,’ Diane suggested.
‘It’s possible, but from his reaction in the interview, I don’t think so. And the clothing in the bin could have been put there to make us think Palmer disposed of it,’ Jessica said.
