independent custody visitor

In England and Wales, custody visitors are appointed by Police Authorities who are required, now by the Police Reform Act 2002, to make arrangements for custody visiting to take place. However the Act makes it clear that Custody Visitors are independent of both the Police Authority and the Chief Constable of the police force.{{cite web|url= http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/part/4/chapter/2/crossheading/persons-in-police-detention|title=Section 51 (Independent custody visitors for places of detention) of the Police Reform Act 2002|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=13 November 2010}} The Act is supplemented by a code of practice{{clarify|date=December 2014}} made by the Home Secretary which sets out in more detail how custody visiting should work.{{cite web|url=http://www.icva.org.uk/_source/downloads/other/CodeOfPractice.pdf|title=Code of Practice on Independent Custody Visiting (Secretary of State for the Home Department)|publisher=Independent Custody Visiting Association|date=April 2010|accessdate=13 November 2010}} In Northern Ireland, a similar arrangement is in place under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/32/section/73|title=Section 73 (Places of detention: lay visitors) of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=13 November 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nipolicingboard.org.uk/custody_visitor_leaflet_2009.pdf|title=Information on independent custody visiting|publisher=Northern Ireland Policing Board|accessdate=13 November 2010}} There is no statutory scheme in Scotland, however all the police boards in Scotland operate a non-statutory scheme under guidance issued by the Scottish Government.{{cite web|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/Police/Circulars/2004/Circular-14|title=Police Circular 14/2004: Independent Custody Visiting National Standards|publisher=Scottish Government|date=21 July 2004|accessdate=13 November 2010}}

Visits to police stations by custody visitors are unannounced and can be made at any time. The custody visitors must be admitted to the custody suite immediately, unless there is a dangerous situation occurring.Section 51(3)(a) of the Police Reform Act 2002, and paragraph 36 of the Code of Practice They are allowed to speak to anyone being detained at the police station, unless a police Inspector (or higher rank) believes that access would place the custody visitors in danger or would “interfere with the process of justice”.Section 51(3)(c) and 51(4)-(5), and paragraphs 40-45 of the Code of Practice The visitors ask the detained person whether they have been informed of their rights under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act codes of practice (for example, to speak to a solicitor or to make a telephone call) and whether they are being treated properly.Paragraph 47 of the Code of Practice Visitors also check that the cells and other facilities within the custody suite, such as the toilets and food-preparation area, are clean.Section 51(3)(d) of the Police Reform Act 2002 The custody record, which records everything that happens to someone whilst they are in police custody, may also be examined.Section 51(3)(b) of the Police Reform Act 2002 and paragraphs 52-53 of the Code of Practice

If the custody visitors find any issues, or a detained person raises an issue about their treatment, the visitors raise these with the officer in charge of the custody suite, or of the police station.Paragraphs 55-56 of the Code of Conduct The visitors complete a report of each visit, which will record their finding including any issues identified during the course of the visit. Copies of the report are sent to the Police Authority.Paragraph 58 of the Code of Practice

Custody visitors are represented nationally by the Independent Custody Visiting Association (the ICVA) which provides training, publicity and support to custody visitors, and also to Police Authorities in carrying out their statutory duty to have in place custody visiting arrangements.{{cite web|url=http://www.icva.org.uk|title=Independent Custody Visiting Association|accessdate=13 November 2010}}

Independent custody visiting, through the ICVA, has been nominated by the United Kingdom Government as one of the means by which the UK fulfills its responsibilities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.{{cite web|url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/opcat/docs/NPM/UKs_NPM.pdf|title=Letter from the UK Ministry of Justice to the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture|date=17 June 2009|accessdate=13 November 2010|publisher=Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights}}

Lay observers carry out a similar function to that of custody visitors, but in relation to the escort of prisoners from one place to another, or their custody at court.{{cite web|url=http://www.layobservers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=27|title=Overview|publisher=National Council of Lay Observers|accessdate=20 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125044753/http://layobservers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=27|archive-date=25 January 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.layobservers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=27|title=Overview|publisher=Lay Observers (Wessex Panel)|accessdate=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125044753/http://layobservers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=27|archive-date=25 January 2013|url-status=dead}}

The Criminal Justice Act 1991 provided for the contracting out of prisoner escort services, including the custody of prisoners on court premises.{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/53/section/80|title=Section 80 (Arrangements for the provision of prisoner escorts) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=24 November 2010}} The Act also required the establishment of a panel of lay observers to inspect the conditions in which prisoners are transported or held.{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/53/section/81|title=Section 81 (Monitoring etc. of prisoner escort arrangements) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|accessdate=24 November 2010}} The Act is supplemented by Prison Service Orders{{cite web|url=http://pso.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/PSO_6200_transfer_of_prisoners.doc|title=Prison Service Order 6200: Transfer of Prisoners: Inter Prison Escorts|publisher=HM Prison Service|date=1999|accessdate=24 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825063212/http://pso.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/PSO_6200_transfer_of_prisoners.doc|archive-date=25 August 2011|url-status=dead}} and police policies where court prisoner custody is co-located with a police custody suite.{{cite web|url=http://www.kent.police.uk/about_us/our_organisation/policies/h/h13.html|title=Para 12 of Policy H13: Court escort service|publisher=Kent Police|date=2008|accessdate=24 November 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In a report produced in 2005, HM Inspectorate of Court Administration and HM Inspectorate of Prisons commented that the training and reporting arrangements for lay observers were unsatisfactory.{{cite web|url=http://www.hmica.gov.uk/files/Custody_and_enforcement_draft_5.pdf|title=Paras 60-62 of Thematic Review: The joint inspection of prisoner escort and court custody in England and Wales|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Court Administration and HM Inspectorate of Prisons|date=June 2005|accessdate=24 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614121650/http://www.hmica.gov.uk/files/Custody_and_enforcement_draft_5.pdf|archive-date=14 June 2011|url-status=dead}} National training standards, regular re-appointment protocols and a national reporting platform to ensure speedy dissemination of reportable issues to various stakeholders within the Ministry of Justice were introduced in 2012. (Also in 2012, HM Inspectorate of Prisons drew up a programme for its own inspection of court custody facilities.{{cite web|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/about/hmipris/expectations-court-custody.pdf|title=Criteria for assessing the treatment of and conditions for detainees in court custody|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Prisons|date=2012|access-date=2012-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013195901/http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/about/hmipris/expectations-court-custody.pdf|archive-date=2012-10-13|url-status=dead}})

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.icva.org.uk/ Independent Custody Visiting Association website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130125044753/http://layobservers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=27 National Council of Lay Observers website]

Category:Law enforcement in the United Kingdom

Category:Imprisonment and detention

Category:Police stations