Joint Inspection of Police Custody Facilities
Under the scrutiny requirements of the UN Optional Protocol against Torture, the UK has an obligation to ensure regular and independent inspection of all places of detention. To meet this requirement HMIC and HMIP have established a programme of inspections of custody conditions in all police forces and London Borough commands.
At an average of 12 inspections per year, the programme is expected to take five to six years to deliver. Each year will be a mix of announced and unannounced inspections – with individual published reports for each inspection and periodic ‘thematic reports’ on emerging trends or findings of particular importance. The inspections look not only at the implementation of statutory requirements, but also at the conditions of detention and the treatment of detainees.
Where good practice is found on an inspection it is highlighted in the individual report, however in order to make these examples more easily accessible they have been collected together in this summary of good practice. This document will be regularly updated.
Reports:
Cambridgeshire – November 2008
Kingston upon Thames – August 2010
Kensington & Chelsea – September 2010
South Yorkshire – November 2010
Avon and Somerset – January 2011
West Yorkshire revisit – July 2011
Cambridgeshire – September 2011