Greater Manchester Police needs to urgently improve its custody services
Greater Manchester Police is not providing custody services well enough, and some important areas of custody now require urgent attention, a report has found.
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Report on an inspection visit to police custody suites in Greater Manchester
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that Greater Manchester Police has a clear governance structure to provide strategic oversight of custody services.
However, HMICFRS and CQC said these arrangements are not resulting in good custody services for detainees. The inspectorates have six main causes of concern, which are:
- the force’s leadership for custody provision isn’t strong enough and senior leaders are not fully engaged in ensuring the service is provided well and achieves appropriate outcomes for detainees;
- the force doesn’t always meet legal requirements for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons, and in the way reviews of detention are carried out;
- governance and oversight of the use of force in custody are limited. Information on what force is used, by which officers, or why it is necessary is often incomplete or inaccurate;
- the force doesn’t always maintain the dignity of detainees when clothing is removed. Detainees are sometimes left naked in their cells and not encouraged to put on replacement clothing;
- the force isn’t always assuring detainee safety. At certain times of the day, there aren’t always enough staff on duty to manage risk appropriately and make sure detainees are kept safe; and
- the force’s records of detainees’ medicines aren’t consistently maintained or accurate, and it doesn’t always securely store medicines brought in with detainees. The lack of control over these medicines presents a significant risk to the force.
His Majesty’s Assistant Inspector of Constabulary Nikki Faulconbridge said:
“Anyone detained in custody should be treated fairly and kept safe from harm.
“Greater Manchester Police has a clear governance structure to provide strategic oversight of its custody services, custody staff are respectful and patient, and the force works well with mental health services. However, our inspection identified some critical weaknesses in how custody is provided to make sure detainees are kept safe and treated and cared for well.
“The force’s strategic priority to tackle crime and increase arrests has led to an increase in demand for custody services as the number of detainees rises. But these custody services are not good enough. Some of the recommendations from our last inspection in 2016 have not been achieved or have only partly been achieved, leaving some important areas of custody requiring urgent attention – including management oversight of custody, governance and oversight of the use of force, risk management and detainee care. These are now causes of concern.
“More positively, the force responded quickly to our feedback during the inspection, taking action in several areas. We will continue to monitor the force’s progress closely to ensure custody services, and outcomes for detainees, improve.”
Get the report
Report on an inspection visit to police custody suites in Greater Manchester
Notes
- For further information, the HMICFRS Press Office can be contacted at 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk