ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the roles and responsibilities of those working in the custody area, including police, police staff, medical practitioners, legal advisors, appropriate adults and drug workers, and the characteristics of the suspect population. 1 This information is important to enable a balanced understanding of relationships within the custody area, as well as the implications for conceptual and theoretical issues. This chapter is also concerned with what it is like in police custody and what it feels like for suspects. This contextualized information about the two custody areas in this and Chapter 4 will also help practitioners to explore the extent to which the findings apply or otherwise to their own working environment.
