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out-of-court disposalone of several methods of concluding the action ofthe criminal justice system in respect of a crimewithout proceeding to a prosecution; they areadministered and effected by the police, andenable them to deal quickly and proportionatelywith low-level, often first-time offences; examplesinclude cautions, cannabis warnings, penaltynotices for disorder, and community resolutions;some have a statutory basis, and some do notPACEPolice and Criminal Evidence Act 1984PACE Code Gadvises officers on the use of discretion: ‘the useof the power [of arrest] must be fully justified andofficers exercising the power should consider ifthe necessary objectives can be met by other,less intrusive means’ (para 1.3)partner agenciespublic sector entities, such as those concernedwith health, education, social services and themanagement of offenders, which from time to timework with the police to attain their common orcomplementary objectivespartnershipco-operative arrangement between two or moreorganisations, from any sector, who shareresponsibility and undertake to use theirrespective powers and resources to achieve aspecified common objectivePCCpolice and crime commissionerPCSOpolice community support officerPenalty Notice forDisorderform of immediate financial punishment used bypolice to deal with low-level offending, such asbeing drunk and disorderly, retail theft and minorcriminal damageplace of safetyresidential accommodation provided by a localsocial services authority under section 46 of theChildren Act 1989; a hospital as defined by theMental Health Act 1983; a police station; anindependent hospital or care home for mentallydisordered persons; or any other suitable placethe occupier of which is willing temporarily to10

receive the patient (defined in section 135(6) ofthe Mental Health Act 1983)PNDPenalty Notice for Disorderpolice and crimecommissionerelected entity for a police area, established undersection 1, Police Reform and Social ResponsibilityAct 2011, responsible for securing themaintenance of the police force for that area andsecuring that the police force is efficient andeffective; holds the relevant chief constable toaccount for the policing of the area; establishesthe budget and police and crime plan for thepolice force; appoints and may, after dueprocess, remove the chief constable from officePolice and CriminalEvidence Act 1984one of the principal statutes concerning thelegislative framework for police powers andsafeguards on stop and search, arrest, detention,investigation, identification and interviewingdetaineespolice areaarea of England and Wales in respect of which apolice force and a local policing body has beenestablished; the police areas outside London arespecified in Schedule 1, Police Act 1996; theLondon police areas are the metropolitan policedistrict and the City of London police area(section 1, Police Act 1996); the Home Secretaryhas the power to alter police areas, but not theCity of London police area (sections 32-34 PoliceAct 1996)police community supportofficeruniformed non-warranted officer employed by aterritorial police force in England and Wales or theBritish Transport Police; established by the PoliceReform Act 2002police officerindividual with warranted powers of arrest, searchand detention who, under the direction of his chiefconstable, is deployed to uphold the law, protectlife and property, maintain and restore theQueen’s peace, and pursue and bring offenders tojustice11

police staffperson employed by a chief constable or a policeand crime commissioner who is not a police officerpolice stationpolice building which is wholly or mainly for theuse of police officers and staffprotected characteristicscharacteristics of a person which, if established tobe the basis of discrimination, will render thediscrimination unlawful under the Equality Act2010; the characteristics are: age, disability,gender reassignment, marriage and civilpartnership, pregnancy and maternity, race,religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientationresponse officerpolice officer assigned to deal with emergencyand priority callsrestorative justiceapproach to justice that focuses on the needs ofthe victims, the offenders, and communities;victims take an active role in the process andoffenders are encouraged to take responsibility fortheir actions and to repair the harm they havedone; it can include apologies, returning stolenitems or community servicerisk assessmentprocess to assist officers in decision-making onappropriate levels of intervention based onexpected or forecast levels of harm to individuals,the public, offenders, or propertysafeguardingterm applied when protecting children and othervulnerable people; the UK government hasdefined the term ‘safeguarding children’ as: ‘Theprocess of protecting children from abuse orneglect, preventing impairment of their health anddevelopment, and ensuring they are growing up incircumstances consistent with the provision ofsafe and effective care that enables children tohave optimum life chances and enter adulthoodsuccessfully’secure accommodationspecialist children's homes which provide careand accommodation in a secure environment forchildren who have been placed there by localauthorities for their welfare and protection, or whohave been placed there by the Youth Justice12

Board; they provide care for boys and girls agedbetween 10 and 17 and include full residentialcare, educational facilities and healthcareprovision.senior officerspolice officers generally defined as those holdinga rank above that of chief superintendent; otherdefinitions include police officers of inspector rankor above, and police officers of superintendentrank or above; in this report, we mean holding arank above that of chief superintendentstreet bailbail granted to an arrested person without takingthem to a police station, on the condition that theperson attends at a later datetriagethe police and mental health professional workingtogether to identify and respond appropriately topeople with mental health problemsUnited NationsConvention on the Rightsof the Child (UNCRC)1989international human rights treaty that grants allchildren and young people (aged 17 and under) acomprehensive set of rightsvoluntary attendancealternative to arrest by inviting suspects to attenda police station or designated local facilities at anappointed time; it is used for low level offencesvulnerabilitycondition of a person who is in need of specialcare, support or protection because of age,disability or risk of abuse or neglect; vulnerabilitycan be created by detention; in this inspection, weused the knowledge we have about outcomes ofcontact with the police for certain groups ofpeople, to define vulnerability13

ForewordEvery day, the police in England and Wales are required to respond to the widestpossible range of human behaviour and conditions. One moment they might beseeking a place of safety for an abandoned child, or for a person suffering frommental health problems who is confused and vulnerable; the next, they could bearresting an armed criminal.In some cases, people may be both offenders and in need of care. Vulnerability canbe a trigger for crime or it can make people more likely to be victims of crime. Thetask that we ask of our police officers in making the distinction between the need forcare and the requirements of justice is therefore both highly complex, and crucial ifwe are to ensure that vulnerable adults and children in our society do not becomecriminalised for want of a more appropriate response. The bricks and mortar of thecustody suite and the police cell do not, and cannot make this distinction. As a result,some of the most vulnerable in our society may be subject to the same physicalconditions and treatment as some of the most harmful.Police officers are civilians in uniform, possessing and discharging powers given tothem freely by the consent of the communities they serve. There can be no greaterpower invested in a civilian than the power to take away the liberty of the citizen; norcan there be a stronger illustration of the power and trust invested in the police. Theway that officers and staff engage with people in their custody or care therefore, hasa most significant effect on the legitimacy with which the police are viewed, both bythose detained, and by wider society. Future co-operation as witnesses to crime, ortrust in the police as a victim of crime, may also be dependent on these contacts withthe service.This being the case, the attitude and actions of the police – whether on the front lineor in custody – are of paramount importance in ensuring that the very different needsof all those they encounter are met by the most appropriate agency. For thosemembers of the public taken into custody, there are risks of harm from theexperience of detention itself. They may also pose a risk to themselves and/or toothers. All of these risks must be managed effectively by officers and staff with therelevant specialist expertise, who must communicate effectively, implement goodstandards of care, follow the law and work proactively with other agencies to ensurethe right protection is put in place for vulnerable detainees, both in and followingpolice custody.The primary purpose of the police is the prevention of crime and disorder. Otherpublic agencies also have responsibilities in this regard. It is important to reiteratethat the care of those who are vulnerable and at risk of coming to police attention isnot the responsibility of the police alone. As this report emphasises, each servicewith a role to play in helping these individuals – including health, mental health,14

social and housing services – must fully and properly discharge its responsibilities,so that the police do not become the default response for vulnerable people in crisis.Many agencies and individuals have assisted HMIC with this inspection. I amparticularly grateful to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for their support throughour joint programme of custody inspections.Tom Winsor (sgd.)Sir Thomas P WinsorHer Majesty's Chief Inspector of ConstabularyMarch 201515

Executive summaryIntroductionPolice custody is the principal gateway to the criminal justice system. Detention bythe police is generally authorised for two main criminal justice purposes: to allow the prompt and effective investigation of an offence, or of the conductof the person in question; and/or to prevent any prosecution for an offence being hindered by thedisappearance of the person in question.Custody also serves a safety purpose, in that detention may be authorised to preventsomeone from causing physical injury to themselves or another person, or to protecta child or other vulnerable person. A guiding principle in all cases is that a personshould be held for the minimum time necessary.Inspection commissionIn January 2014, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate ofConstabulary (HMIC) to conduct a thematic inspection on the welfare of vulnerablepeople in police custody, “including, but not limited to, those with mental healthproblems, those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, and children”. Inparticular, the Home Secretary asked us to consider groups for whom there hasbeen “a pronounced concern” about their treatment by the police – especially peopleof African-Caribbean descent. 1ApproachThis inspection considered the end-to-end process of police custody, from the firstpoint of contact, to release or transfer to court or prison. It sought to answer thefollowing question:How effective are police forces at identifying and responding to vulnerabilitiesand associated risks to the welfare of those detained in police custody?To answer this question, the inspection team: reviewed the research literature, previous inspection findings, relevantlegislation, police guidance and statistical information;1A number of previous reviews and research have highlighted the vulnerability of these groups inpolice custody. See Chapter 1, Introduction, for examples of this literature.16

spoke to a number of experts in the field, and those with an interest in makingimprovements; commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to undertakea series of interviews (the 'detainee voice project') with people who haveexperienced detention in police custody within the last three years (their reportis set out at Annex F); investigated and mapped the current data collected and held by publicagencies on the extent and use of police custody; conducted a focus group with people with relevant experience of policecustody, who were nominated by a third-sector organisation (Black MentalHealth UK); and conducted unannounced inspections of custody arrangements in six policeforces between September 2014 and January 2015: LeicestershireConstabulary; North Wales Police; West Mercia Police; Metropolitan PoliceService (specifically, the boroughs of Brent, Barnet and Harrow); ClevelandPolice; and Surrey Police.FindingsThe nature of vulnerabilityResearch, data analyses and inspection reports 2 show that many people taken intopolice custody are vulnerable in some way, and that detention in police custody canbe particularly detrimental to their welfare. This vulnerability may take many forms,including:2 mental health problems; learning difficulties; physical illness or disability; alcohol and/or substance misuse; age (all children are vulnerable, and older people may be more likely to bevulnerable through illness, for example); and race (people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities canbe vulnerable because of their minority status).See Chapter 4, 'The nature of vulnerability', for details of this literature.17

In all

Guide to Home Office Statistics, 2011 NPM National Preventive Mechanism OPCAT Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment