Summoned by police to help eyewitnesses, suspects communicate
Mr Christopher Loke is a volunteer under the Appropriate Adult Scheme, which was administered by the Law Society of Singapore’s (LawSoc) Pro Bono Services Office, until the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) took over this year. Photo: Christopher Loke
SINGAPORE — Over the past year, retiree Christopher Loke has been summoned to the police station four times. He is not under investigation for any offences. Rather, the 61-year-old is called in to help officers record statements from persons with intellectual disabilities, autism and mental illnesses.
On one occasion, such a call came at around midnight, but Mr Loke still headed down immediately.
“Since I volunteered, I’m very happy to take these cases ... It’s okay because I was free anyway,” he said.
Mr Loke is a volunteer under the Appropriate Adult Scheme, which was administered by the Law Society of Singapore’s (LawSoc) Pro Bono Services Office, until the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) took over this year.
The programme kicked off last year after a successful pilot in 2013 at Bedok Police Division. The pilot had a pool of 60 volunteers, which has since grown to 208.
These volunteers help eyewitnesses or suspects with developmental disabilities to communicate “more effectively” during police interviews, so that they do not misunderstand questions or end up misrepresented. Over the year, there were 73 such cases.
Mr Loke said he decided to volunteer under the scheme although he had no experience working with persons with developmental disabilities. He was put through the paces with six hours of training, inclusive of role-play exercises, which he said was beneficial but did little to ease his jitters when the first case landed on his lap.
“(I was) not sure how to interact with the police and suspects,” Mr Loke said, recalling his experience. “(It was my) first time stepping into a police station, especially into lock-up areas.”
But over time, Mr Loke grew familiar with the processes. Identifying himself as a volunteer, smiling and making eye contact are tools of the trade, he has learnt.
“They feel a bit more relaxed because they know there’s somebody else other than the police officer in front of them,” he said. “Most of the time, what I try to do is to encourage them to tell what has actually happened.”
Twice, he has encountered suspects who ask him to plead for leniency on their behalf.
“They’ve typically been in the police station for a bit of time, and they’re a little tired. What they want most of the time is to go home,” he said. “Generally, they would just say, ‘Can I go home? When can I go home?’ Sometimes they’ll look at me or at the police officer and say, ‘Can you help?’.”
Last year, the LawSoc had set its sights on expanding the volunteer pool to more than 300. Commenting on the shortfall, a spokesperson said: “Recruitment efforts were cut down along the year as the volume of activations were adequately met by the volunteer pool recruited already. Adding more volunteers would have diluted opportunities for volunteers to be activated or engaged.”
Recruiting volunteers can be a tall order, as LawSoc looks out for volunteers with experience in communicating with persons with developmental disabilities. These volunteers also have to be prepared to be on call at all hours, said the LawSoc spokesperson.
In response to media queries on taking over the administering of the scheme, MINDS chief executive Keh Eng Song said: “MINDS has worked closely with the police and the mental health sector, and with the handover of the Appropriate Adult service, we will continue to build on that relationship to empower our volunteers and assist police detainees.”
He added that plans are under way to step up training and support for volunteers, and the organisation would work with specialists from the mental health sector to enhance the volunteer experience.
