Cleveland Police Authority has welcomed the findings of an inspection report into the Force’s custody services which described them as ‘well managed’ with detainees being generally well treated, their rights respected and their most pressing needs attended to.
The joint report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary follows an unannounced inspection visit in May and has been welcomed by the Lead Authority Member on Custody Visiting, Councillor Ron Lowes, as ‘very positive, highlighting many areas of excellent practice and pointing us to ways in which we can improve even further.’
Amongst the areas praised by the inspection team were:
- Good strategic management of custody, assisted by a positive relationship with the Police Authority and an active independent custody visitors scheme;
- A sufficiently resourced body of permanent staff
- The physical environment of the suites was good and safety procedures were generally satisfactory;
- An appropriate balance was maintained between progressing cases and the rights of individuals, with PACE adhered to, and health care provision was generally good, supported by effective clinical governance.
Said Councillor Lowes “We have made great strides in recent years in modernising and improving our custody services, working closely with our partners Reliance, and this report demonstrates that progress.
“Of course, we are always looking at ways of doing things even better which is why we will be examining carefully the small number of recommendations for improvements made by the inspection team and drawing up plans to meet the points they have raised.”
Note:
The Joint Inspection of Cleveland Police Custody Suites is available to view on the HMIC website by clicking here