Greater public scrutiny given to police custody
Members of the community will give their feedback on whether police are using their custody powers fairly, following the launch of a new scrutiny panel.
The Independent Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel (CDSP), which is facilitated by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, aims to improve public trust and confidence in policing by increasing the transparency around how people are treated when they are detained.
Panel members will have access to police-retained materials to objectively and independently review matters including disproportionality as well as police and detainee behaviour.
It will also look to build trust with ethnic minorities, provide recommendations to Nottinghamshire Police and publish an annual report to summarise its findings.
The CDSP meetings will be held quarterly at Nottinghamshire Police Force Headquarters, with panel members attending a pre-meeting at least two weeks prior to begin reviewing the data available to them.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said: “This is a really exciting development that aligns perfectly with the ambitions of my Police and Crime Plan – involving communities and bringing greater transparency, scrutiny and accountability to our work with and for Nottinghamshire’s communities.
“The primary goal of the Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel is to independently assess and report on detention and custody processes. Our scrutineers will be representing local communities in the conversations they have with police officers and staff who are actively involved in the custody environment.
“Scrutiny panels such as this provide a safe environment for members of the local community to objectively review, advise on and assess policing practice and the treatment of individuals coming into contact with the police. It forms a valuable source of assurance for me and the communities we serve.”
Observations and feedback from community scrutiny panels can help police forces to learn lessons, improve services and ensure greater accountability.
This can support police officers to use their powers more confidently with the backing of the community and also aid public understanding of how and why police powers are used.
The CDSP was launched at Coronation House in Nottingham, which included a tour of the custody suites for the panel members.
Coronation House is one of two custody suites in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, with the other based in Mansfield.
Nottinghamshire Police Superintendent for Custody and Investigation Standards, Jon Foy, said: “The panel has been set up to look at the provision of our custody powers within Nottinghamshire.
“One of the main pillars of policing is to use our powers fairly, transparently and with public scrutiny, so the more scrutiny we get the better it will be, and the better we will be able to serve our communities.
“It’s important for us to get views of the community, in making sure we get them involved in ensuring we are using our powers fairly and proportionately.”
A CDSP is made up of a group of local people selected from across policing area, to represent local community in conversations with police officers and staff actively involved in detention and custody environments.
Hyacinth Francis-Watson, Chair of the Custody Detention Scrutiny Panel, said: “The biggest thing for us is to improve the trust and confidence that our communities have in policing.
“For me the panel is a way of engaging with the young people who are coming into custody and removing some of the misconceptions they may have.
“People from all walks of live are going to be a part of this panel and it’s great to know that we all have a passion for making sure people in custody are treated the right well.”
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is also responsible for the Independent Custody Visitors scheme, which allows members of the community to review individual police interactions with the public.
It scrutinises police practices in order to identify and explain inequalities and disproportionalities at key points in the policing experience of people from ethnic minority backgrounds and to make recommendations addressing such inequalities that cannot be objectively justified.