Professional Development Day 2026: Who has power in custody?

The National Appropriate Adult Network (NAAN) invites you to our 2026 Professional Development Day.

📅 Tuesday 13th October 2026
🕙 10:00–16:00
📍 Birmingham City University, Curzon Building, 4 Cardigan Street, Birmingham B4 7BD

Everyone in police custody thinks someone else has the power.

Appropriate adults say they have none. Custody officers say the same. Solicitors say they're kept in the dark by police.

So who actually holds it? Is the powerlessness real, or is it an illusion everyone's sharing at once?

This year's NAAN conference puts that paradox under the microscope.

Across the day we'll dig into some questions that don't get asked often enough: Do AAs, police, solicitors and the people they're supporting all see power the same way? Does this mean that AAs have no power at all? Or is their power unrecognised? Can an AA unintentionally minimise the voice of the person they're supporting?

Expect challenging conversations, perspectives from across the custody system, and practical takeaways you can bring straight back to your service.

But as anyone who's been before will tell you, the programme is only half the story. Our Professional Development Day is the one moment in the year when the whole network comes together in the same room. It's a chance to step back from the day-to-day, swap ideas with people doing the same work across the country, and be reminded that none of us is doing this alone. Whatever your role, you'll leave with new connections and fresh thinking.

• 10.00: Registration and welcome
• 10:30: Introduction (Chris Bath, NAAN Chief Executive)
• 10.35: From Power to Empowerment (Professor Laura Hammond)
• 11:20: Break and refreshments
• 11:35: Power in police custody: The Power of Being Heard (Panel)
• 12:20: Lunch
• 13.20: Power. Who Has It, Who Uses It, Who Feels It? (Panel)
• 14:10: Welcome Back to AARC: Our Journey and the Power of Our Network
• 14:20: Power Through Shared Resources - The Evidence Hub
• 14:30: Break and refreshments
• 14.45: Power in Action: Research Happening Within AARC
• 15:25: The Future of NAAN (Chris Bath)
• 15.55: Closing comments (Grev Wallington, NAAN Effective Practice Manager)
• 16.00: Close

Gold and Silver NAAN member organisations may reserve up to two free places (subject to spaces available) so please feel free to bring a colleague. Larger members who pay a higher membership fee can bring more people - please get in touch to arrange this. Individual members are each entitled to one free ticket. Places are limited so please book only what you need. Although tickets are free to NAAN members, the cost of no shows and late cancellations will be passed on (see FAQs below).

If you are not a member organisation, or you'd like to bring more people, additional tickets may be available for purchase once members have had an opportunity to book free tickets.