Court managers needed to take a more active role in how their custody suites were run, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an inspection.

The inspection was the first in a new programme of inspections of court custody carried out by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. At the time of inspection there were four Crown Court and 12 Magistrates’ Court buildings with active custody suites in the region. Some courts had been recently closed and new Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) management structures were still being embedded after a change programme. Custody operations were contracted out.

Inspectors were concerned to find that:

• although there were good working relationships locally between the staff of HMCTS and the contractor, HMCTS managers were insufficiently engaged with the custody function;
• in most places, detainees were not given clear information about their rights or how to make a complaint;
• the physical condition of the cell area was particularly poor at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court and poor at four other sites;
• the telephone interpreting service had almost never been used;
• searching and handcuffing procedures were a matter of routine rather than related to risk and were not always consistent;
• while considerable care was taken with some vulnerable detainees, a thorough initial risk assessment was lacking; and
• women and children were not always kept appropriately separate from the main detainee population in vans or the cell areas.

Inspectors, however, were pleased to find that:

• courts did not have cut-off times;
• the information coming in with detainees was generally good;
• there was little use of force; and
• mental health services to the custody suites were good.

Nick Hardwick said:

‘This first full inspection of custody suites in a court area revealed custody staff who did their best to take care of detainees, in conditions which were in many cases poor, and with underdeveloped approaches to assessing and managing risk and to meeting legitimate needs. Improvements to buildings will require capital spends, but there is much that can be done to improve matters in the short term, especially if HMCTS managers focus on the custody suites as an integral part of their role in running the courts.’

Notes to editors:

1. View a copy of the full report. (765 kB)
2. 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.
3. This is the first report of a new programme of inspections of court custody. These inspections contribute to the UK’s response to its international obligation to ensure regular and independent inspection of all places of detention. The inspections look at strategy, individual rights, and treatment and conditions, including health care.
4. The court custody facilities in this area comprised:
   Crown Court: Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Quayside), Newcastle-upon-Tyne Moot Hall, Teesside.
   Magistrates’ Court: Bedlington, Berwick upon Tweed, Consett, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newton Aycliffe, North Tyneside, Peterlee, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Teesside.
5. This joint inspection was carried out from 6-15 August 2012.
6. Please contact Jane Parsons on 020 7035 2123 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview with Nick Hardwick.