South Wales Police’s custody services require further improvement, having shown limited progress in some areas since its last inspection, a report has found.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that South Wales Police has clear governance arrangements for the provision of custody. However, HMICFRS and CQC said that oversight of these arrangements is not robust enough and that there has been little improvement since the force’s previous inspection.
Four main causes of concern
The inspectorates have four main causes of concern, which are:
- senior pioneers in the force don’t oversee custody services well enough to make sure that appropriate outcomes for detainees are achieved;
- the governance and oversight of the use of force in custody isn’t good enough. South Wales Police can’t show that when force is used in custody it is necessary, justified and proportionate;
- the force isn’t always meeting the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and its codes of practice when carrying out reviews of detention. These are often of a poor standard and not conducted in the best interests of the detainee; and
- the approach to meeting detainee physical and mental health needs isn’t good enough. This includes the healthcare contract not allowing for healthcare practitioners to be embedded in all the custody suites, and that arrangements for referring detainees with suspected mental health conditions to mental health nurses aren’t appropriate.
Provision of custody services
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: “Anyone detained in custody should be kept safe from harm and treated fairly."
“South Wales Police has a clear governance arrangement for its provision of custody services. Frontline officers have a good understanding of vulnerability and consider this when deciding whether an arrest is appropriate, and custody staff are patient, reassuring and treat detainees with respect."
New recommendations
Williams added: “However, in some areas progress has been limited and there remain several areas of concern. This includes the governance and oversight of the use of force in custody, as well as senior leaders failing to oversee custody services well enough to ensure that appropriate outcomes are achieved for detainees."
“The force responded positively to our inspection findings, quickly starting work to improve the service provided to detainees in custody. We will be working closely with South Wales Police and monitoring its progress against our new recommendations.”
