Inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of
Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) assessed that Northumbria
Police had a good understanding of demand for custody services
and sufficient staff in all its suites to meet this.
Staff were found, in a visit in September 2019, to be
respectful, courteous and empathetic. They engaged well with
detainees, building good rapport with them, though limited
privacy at the booking-in desks restricted the discussion of any
confidential or sensitive information.
Conditions and cleanliness in the three full-time
suites were good overall, with minimal graffiti. All cells had
natural light and the temperature was mostly suitable. CCTV was
installed across the custody estate, including in all cells,
though the lack of audio coverage in key areas, together with
poor audibility where there was coverage, limited its
effectiveness. However, most resilience suites were not ready to
be used at short notice.
The force had a good approach to adverse incidents.
Key aspects of custody were also monitored to assess how well
custody services were performing, to identify trends, inform
learning and hold partners and contract providers to account. The
force had insufficient mechanisms to show that the use of force
in detention and custody was always safe and proportionate,
though the use of force in incidents reviewed by inspectors had
generally been proportionate and justified.
There was a clear strategic priority to divert
children and vulnerable people away from custody and prevent them
from entering the criminal justice system. However, like many
other inspected forces, Northumbria struggled to find alternative
accommodation for children charged and refused
bail.
Inspectors identified as good practice that detainees
leaving custody could access mental health support for up to 12
weeks following release, which included counselling, social care
and peer support.
Inspectors identified three causes for concern. One
related to staff in the custody area being able to view detainees
on CCTV using the toilet in their cell because these areas were
not obscured on the CCTV screen. The other two related to the
force’s adherence to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
(PACE).
The report recommended that the force “should take
immediate action to ensure that all custody procedures comply
with legislation and guidance, and that officers implement them
consistently […] the recording on custody records was
inconsistent and lacked sufficient detail.”
Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, and
Wendy Williams, HM Inspector of Constabulary,
said:
“Northumbria Police had a clear governance structure
for custody with meetings at both strategic and operational
levels providing effective oversight of the delivery of custody
services. Good progress had been made in a number of areas since
our previous inspection, especially in the health services
provided to detainees.”
- Ends -
Notes to
Editors:
-
The full report, published on 23 January 2020, can
be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website
at: www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons
-
HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent
inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on
conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for
those detained and the public.
-
On 19 July 2017 HMIC took on responsibility for
fire & rescue service inspections and was renamed HM
Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue
Services.
-
HMICFRS is an independent inspectorate, inspecting
policing in the public interest, and assesses and reports on
the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces to tackle
crime and terrorism, improve criminal justice and raise
confidence. HMICFRS inspects all 43 police forces in England
and Wales together with other major policing and law
enforcement bodies. HMICFRS will inspect all 45 fire and rescue
services in England.
-
This report is part of a programme of unannounced
inspections of police custody carried out jointly by the two
inspectorates and which form a key part of the joint work
programme of the criminal justice inspectorates. These
inspections also contribute to the United Kingdom’s response to
its international obligation to ensure regular and independent
inspection of all places of detention. The inspections
look at strategy, treatment and conditions, individual rights
and health care.
-
This report describes the findings following an
unannounced inspection between 2 and 13 September 2019 of three
custody suites containing 119 cells and six resilience suites
with a further 65 cells. Northumbria suites were last inspected
in 2014.
-
To aid improvement HMIP and HMICFRS have made three
recommendations to the force (and the Police and Crime
Commissioner) addressing key causes of concern, and have
highlighted an additional 19 areas for improvement. These are
set out in Section 6 of the report.
