Checks on Wiltshire police custody earn national award
The Independent Custody Visiting Scheme has been recognised
A national award has been given to a service in Wiltshire that carries out checks on the quality and safety of the county's police custody suites.
The Independent Custody Visiting Scheme, overseen by the Police and Crime Commissioner's Office, has been recognised.
Trained volunteers from the local community make regular unannounced visits to police custody suites to check on the rights, entitlements, well-being and dignity of the detainees held there.
Their findings are reported to the Police and Crime Commissioner who holds the Chief Constable to account.
The Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) - the national membership organisation that supports, leads and represents these schemes - has developed a quality assurance framework to assess how well schemes comply with the Code of Practice that governs custody visiting.
The Dorset scheme has been presented with a gold Quality Assurance Award by ICVA.
Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said:
“This award is a testament to the outcomes my office has worked hard to deliver to get the ICV scheme operating to a high standard.
“ICV schemes are an essential tool for ensuring transparency in custody, which is an area of policing that is often hidden. My office will continue to invest in these kinds of schemes to hold these operational areas of policing to account.”