Blocked drains, damaged cells and supply issues found in police custody inspections

There were 37 volunteer “independent custody visitors” working for the area’s police and crime commissioner viewing the force’s five cell complexes during 2020.

Their annual report says there were “no high-impact findings” at the force’s Hereford, Kidderminster, Telford, Shrewsbury or Worcester stations that year, but, in a foreword, PCC John Campion thanks the volunteers for the “crucial role” they play “providing reassurance to communities about how police are handling people under detention”.

Figures in the report say the Shropshire panel – the sub-group responsible for inspecting the county’s suites at Malinsgate and Monkmoor – is the largest of the four in the force area and the most gender-balanced, with eight male and seven female members.

“In March 2020, general ICV visits were suspended as a result of the government guidance surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic,” the report says.

“In June 2020, the OPCC arranged for each custody suite to have an electronic tablet so virtual visits may take place.”

These were weekly, and were conducted by a single volunteer, rather in pairs as usual.

They spoke remotely to detainees and custody officers were not allowed to take part in the conversation.

Concerns

Physical visits resumed in October but were suspended again the following month, so, for the years as a whole, 38 per cent of all visits were conducted virtually.

“There have been no high-impact findings during any visits that have taken place,” the report says.

“General issues reported during visits have included blocked drains, damage to cells, requests to see a healthcare professional, requests for medication, requests for phone calls from detainees, issues with stock of bedding or food and personal protection requests for staff, ICVs and detainees.”

It does not specify which concerns were raised at which stations.

The report also notes that, between March 27 and April 28, 2020, the Kidderminster and Shrewsbury custody suites were closed. This was done in order to reserve them as “clean” sites, to use if one of the five other custody suites saw a coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking at the time, Chief Inspector Keith Gee stressed that this move did not put the public at risk, as lockdown brought about a “dramatic fall in the number of crimes taking place”, bringing the number of arrests and detentions with it.

Diagrams in the report show that Worcester’s custody suite went from seeing 188 detainees in March to 365 in April, while Telford’s headcount also rose from 256 to 322 that month.

More information about West Mercia’s independent custody visiting scheme is available at www.westmercia-pcc.gov.uk/volunteer.