Complaints raised in relation to detention in custody – Essex Police, June 2020

Essex Police · Ref: 2020/137182

Recommendation date: 24 February 2022

Response due: 21 April 2022

Published: 1 April 2022

Custody and detention

In June 2020, a complaint was made that Essex Police kept a woman in police custody for an excessive length of time and did not provide adequate support for her mental wellbeing during her detention. In addition, a further complaint was made that Essex Police had victimised the woman over the last nine years. Our investigation considered whether the appropriate welfare measures were put in place in relation to the woman’s mental wellbeing, the length of time that she was in custody and whether all of the actions were conducted in line with legislation, policy and procedure, and were proportionate and necessary. We investigated whether there was a pattern of incidents which indicated whether the woman was victimised by Essex Police by establishing the amount of contact she had with the force since early 2018 and establishing whether the contact was proportionate and for a legitimate policing purpose. During our …

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Recommendations (9)

Recommendation 1 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police remind all Custody Staff of their policy in relation to assigning female carers to female detainees. A female complainant was detained in police custody for around 35 hours. Essex Police have a policy that … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: Action; Instruction was sent to all custody staff on 3rd March 2022. This is now included as part of our monthly audit and inspection process. Custody records are dip checked to ensure that the allocation of a female … Read more

Recommendation 2 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police should amend their policy to ensure that where a Health Care Professional (HCP) decides not to administer a medication that they have been informed a detainee has been prescribed, the HCP should record this … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: Action: This request was submitted to our Health Care provider CRG 1st April 2022 confirmation received that it was circulated to their staff as a new recording requirement. A request to update our current policy E0101 has been … Read more

Recommendation 3 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police takes steps to ensure all relevant referrals are made for detained persons. This should include consideration of providing guidance on how to make referrals, including who is responsible for doing so and ensuring that … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: Liaison & Diversion referrals are the responsibility of the Health Care providers within custody and are stipulated within the current Health Care contract. All referrals are made with the consent of the detainee following their engagement with the … Read more

Recommendation 4 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police take steps to ensure custody staff, in particular custody officers and healthcare professionals, understand when detained persons require an Appropriate Adult. This should include: Providing updated training on the legislation and national guidance regarding … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: 25th April 2022 Communication sent to all custody Sgts reminding them of their responsibility under PACE Code C. Force policy does not need to reinforce what is already a lawful requirement. Instruction sent to all custody staff informing … Read more

Recommendation 5 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police remind all police officers and custody staff of their responsibility to sign the constant observations front sheet following a briefing from a Custody Sergeant, and the Custody Sergeant's responsibility to countersign the entry. A … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: The hard copy PERS form used in 2019 for PECS transfers has now been replaced by an electronic version called dPERS . The warning markers section is integrated into this electronic application and is not added as a … Read more

Recommendation 6 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police provide training to all custody officers in relation to the forms they should complete when transferring detainee's to other agencies for Court. A complainant was denied bail following charge for an offence, and therefore … Read more

Force Response

Recommendation 7 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police ensure that officers conducting close proximity observations in custody are of the appropriate sex. A complainant was in police custody for 35 hours. She had mental health conditions and was placed on level four … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: 25th April 2022 Instruction sent to all custody staff informing them of this recommendation and placed on our Custody Command ‘learning the lessons’ briefing page.This is also contained in Essex Police policy E0104 section 3.2.4 on close proximity … Read more

Recommendation 8 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police should review its policy and procedures to clarify and improve existing guidance in relation to: The length of time officers should conduct close proximity observations before they are replaced by another officer. What is … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: ActionPoint 1 – Essex Police are already developing an automated system where the custody Sgt and the supervising officer of the officers conducting constant observations are reminded to provide relief cover. Once this system had been developed it … Read moreAccepted action: ActionPoint 1 – Essex Police are already developing an automated system where the custody Sgt and the supervising officer of the officers conducting constant observations are reminded to provide relief cover. Once this system had been developed it will be trailed in the South LPA. 25th April 2022 Instruction sent to all custody staff informing them of this recommendation and placed on our Custody Command ‘learning the lessons’ briefing page Point 2 –The constant observation form already contains explicit instructions to officers conducting constant observation as to the requirements of the role (Form A345 page 2). On 25th April 2022 Instruction was sent to all custody Sgts reminding them of this recommendation and their duty covering these instructions with officers. This instruction has been and placed on our Custody Command ‘learning the lessons’ briefing page Please note that contrary to paragraph 195 of this report which stated ‘This investigation found no policy or guidance on what is expected of an officer whilst conducting constant observations’ is incorrect. The constant observations form A345 does contain written instructions to officers on the requirements of their role. This can be found on page 2 of the A345. In this case the instruction page 2 was not uploaded to the document manager in Athena however all 3 pages are stapled together and handed to the officers. Essex Police policy E0104 section 3.2.4 also contains instruction to officers conducting constant observations: 3.2.4 Level 4 - Close Proximity Detainees at the highest risk of self-harm should be observed at this level. It requires the following: The custody sergeant must record the following on the custody record: It is recommended that any officer carrying out Level 4 observations is replaced by another after 2 hours if practicable. In circumstances involving the risk of self-harm the detainee’s hands and face must be visible to the officer at all times, even if this requires the removal of any blanket or clothing used by the detainee to cover themselves. When cell checks and visits are carried out it is not sufficient to record 'visit correct' or 'checked in order' on the custody record. More detail is required, e.g. 'detainee awake, reading, spoken to, offered a drink, drink refused'. Show less

Recommendation 9 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police take steps to ensure that all custody staff pro-actively offer showers to detainees during their detention in police custody. As a minimum, detainees should be offered a shower if they have been incontinent. Appropriate … Read more

Force Response

Accepted action: Action - 25th April 2022 Instruction sent to all custody staff informing them of this recommendation and placed on our Custody Command ‘learning the lessons’ briefing page.