Further Detail on the Report

Chapter 16 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 states that the ICVS is to provide independent monitoring of Police Scotland custody to ensure that detainees are being treated fairly and in accordance with the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). OPCAT recognises that people who have been detained are particularly vulnerable and require nation states to set up a national body that can support efforts to prevent ill-treatment in custody settings.

During 2022/23, ICVS carried out over 1,000 visits to custody centres and spoke to over 1,600 people in custody. Over this reporting period ICVs have not reported any breaches of human rights or highlighted any instances of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of arrested individuals, as described by OPCAT.

Despite this, ICVs have identified thematic areas for continuous improvement. These are highlighted in Appendix A. In the majority of cases, the responsibility to act on ICVs findings falls to Police Scotland and these findings are addressed at the time by the custody staff/officer. However, a small number of findings will require input from other public sector partners or investment in order to address the actions identified.

The following key thematic areas for continuous improvement for Police Scotland have been raised within the report:

Letter of Rights;

Children in custody;

Medical related areas for improvement with a focus on mental health;

Access to washing and showering facilities;

Need for investment and modernisation of the custody estate.

It should be noted that for all the data presented in the ICVS annual report, that data labelled as ‘issues’ can be raised by a detainee and be subsequently found to have already been addressed by Police Scotland. During 2022-23 the data captured by the ICVS team only indicates how many issues were resolved immediately. The issues raised with greatest concern to the welfare, dignity and human rights were followed up with Police Scotland. Work is on-going to finalise the ICVS database to capture all instances where issues have been resolved as a result of the ICVs observations. Therefore, the figures in this section should only be used to assess immediate resolution by Police Scotland.

It is encouraging to see 100% resolution rates where any medical issue has been raised by the detainee and a high level of resolution rate for any Letter of Rights Issues, however we would encourage further improvement.

In terms of access to washing and showering facilities, 81% of concerns were either addressed immediately, or had already been addressed by Police Scotland. ICVS have previously recommended that Police Scotland should continue to offer access to wash/shower facilities regardless of the time spent in custody. Access to washing, showering and hand washing facilities is fundamental to the care, welfare and dignity of people in custody.

This is a continued area of concern for the ICVs as washing/showering should be seen as a basic right of an individual. Police Scotland should seek to ensure any reasonable request to wash and/or shave more often than once per day should be met, where possible. Access to hand washing facilities should also be facilitated where possible.