By Tony O’Reilly-
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has been inadequate in its provision of custody services, with some important areas of custody now requiring “urgent attention”, a damning report has found
Although GMP had a clear governance structure to provide strategic oversight of custody, the report said these arrangements were “not resulting in good custody services for detainees” and there were some “critical weaknesses”.
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His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the Care Quality Commission condemned the force in a damning report. It said there has not been enough improvement since its previous inspection and “significant concerns remain”.
Inspectors found six main areas of concern:
The force’s leadership for custody provision is not strong enough and senior leaders are not fully engaged in ensuring the service is provided well and achieves appropriate outcomes for detainees.
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The force does not always meet legal requirements for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons, and in the way reviews of detention are carried out.
Governance and oversight of the use of force in custody are limited. Information on what force is used, by which officers, or why it is necessary is often incomplete or inaccurate
The force does not always maintain the dignity of detainees when clothing is removed. Detainees are sometimes left naked in their cells and not encouraged to put on replacement clothing. The force is not always assuring detainee safety. At certain times of the day, there are not always enough staff on duty to manage risk appropriately and make sure detainees are kept safe.
The force’s records of detainees’ medicines are not consistently maintained or accurate, and it doesn’t always securely store medicines brought in with detainees. The lack of control over these medicines presents a significant risk to the force.
Governance and oversight of the use of force in custody was limited and records were often “incomplete or inaccurate”
Dignity Of Detainees
The dignity of detainees was not maintained when clothing was removed and they were “sometimes left naked in their cells and not encouraged to put on replacement clothing”
Detainee safety was not always ensured and there was not always enough staff on duty to manage risk appropriately
Lack of control over detainees’ medicines presented “a significant risk to the force” with insecure storage and inaccurate records. Leadership for custody provision was also “not strong enough”, the report said.
Legal requirements for detention, treatment and questioning were not always met
The report added that: “Frontline officers understand what makes someone potentially vulnerable. They consider this when deciding whether to arrest, but the offence often takes precedence over vulnerability. This is also the case with children. The number of children arrested has increased during the last year. We found cases where, in our view, alternatives to custody should have been considered.
“There is some good support for frontline officers when dealing with incidents involving people with potential mental ill health. Officers spoke highly of the advice and support offered by the mental health professionals in the force control room and those in the mental health response cars that attend incidents to help officers decide how to deal with people in mental health crisis. But they told us of long waits with people when they are detained for an assessment under the Mental Health Act.”
The report says the approach to meeting detainees’ individual and diverse needs is mixed. The needs of some groups are recognised and met. But it adds: “this isn’t the case for all detainees – for example, women, people with disabilities and people who have little or no understanding of English or wish to observe their faith.”
Staff routinely remove footwear and clothing with cords or laces from detainees without justifying this through an individual risk assessment. Anti-rip clothing is used too often.
His Majesty’s Assistant Inspector of Constabulary Nikki Faulconbridge said: “Anyone detained in custody should be treated fairly and kept safe from harm.
“GMP has a clear governance structure to provide strategic oversight of its custody services, custody staff are respectful and patient, and the force works well with mental health services.
“However, our inspection identified some critical weaknesses in how custody is provided to make sure detainees are kept safe and treated and cared for well.
“The force’s strategic priority to tackle crime and increase arrests has led to an increase in demand for custody services as the number of detainees rises. But these custody services are not good enough.
“Some of the recommendations from our last inspection in 2016 have not been achieved or have only partly been achieved, leaving some important areas of custody requiring urgent attention – including management oversight of custody, governance and oversight of the use of force, risk management and detainee care. These are now causes of concern.
“More positively, the force responded quickly to our feedback during the inspection, taking action in several areas. We will continue to monitor the force’s progress closely to ensure custody services, and outcomes for detainees, improve.”
The report makes six recommendations to address the main causes of concern and highlights a further 13 areas for improvement.
GMP says work is already underway to address the concerns raised in the report
The recommendations include the appointment of Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane, and the appointment of a new chief superintendent and superintendent into the branch to oversee the direct response to the HMICFRS inspection findings on oversight and leadership
It also includes support for the implementation of improvements, an initial investment of five additional temporary inspectors has been introduced to assist and oversee compliance and raise standards, said GMP.
An additional ten custody sergeants will also be added to the team.
“This additional resource and leadership will ensure custody staff are getting the support needed to drive improvement plans forward and ensure custody suites are managing the rising demand of increasing arrest numbers and people coming through detention,” the force said.
Work has already started on addressing recording use of force, with increased oversight and daily audits taking place to identify where force has been used.
“Any use of force giving rise for concern are subject to a deeper review via site CCTV analysis,” the force said. “Issues and learning opportunities are now captured and dealt with swiftly with individuals, site inspectors and where appropriate GMP’s Professional Standards Branch and Operational Training. As with use of force, the use of anti-rip clothing is now scrutinised on a daily basis.”
In relation to the control of medicines and secure storage, GMP said the established processes have been “reinvigorated” with all members of staff, and a revised daily recording and audit process is carried out by sergeants and by the site inspector every week.
The report did, however, recognise to the work being done in GMP’s custody suites to work alongside mental health partner organisations to meet the needs of those who need it, and take them out of custody to specialist help where appropriate.
Mr McFarlane said: “It is my utmost priority to quickly address these issues and put in place measures which enable our custody staff to do their job effectively, professionally and to the highest standard possible.
“It is important to recognise that this report consistently acknowledges the hard work our custody staff and officers do, particularly for those who come into custody with mental health issues, whilst working in what can be a very difficult and volatile environment.
“GMP’s improvement plan has seen the force become the most improved in the country, and our strategy to be more proactive in arresting people and getting criminals off our streets has created additional demand on our custody resources and capability, which I am here to address.
“We cannot and will not stop arresting people who cause a blight on our communities, however, no matter how busy our custody suites are, we must ensure we are treating people fairly and with dignity.
“We have not waited for the report to be published to take action and we are already very much on our way to addressing all areas for concern, including robust leadership and oversight, increased scrutiny on use of force and anti-rip clothing, enhanced measures to secure medication, and thorough regular review and auditing procedures to ensure compliance and professionalism.”
He added: “I have already personally met a significant number of our custody suite staff and I firmly believe with the right leadership and working practices in place, we can and will improve our service level, and support our force as we arrest more people and get criminals off the streets and through the criminal justice process.”
Response From The Force
In a statement Greater Manchester Police said: “Additional resource and leadership will ensure custody staff are getting the support needed to drive improvement plans forward and ensure custody suites are managing the rising demand of increasing arrest numbers and people coming through detention.
“Work has already started on addressing recording use of force, with increased oversight and daily audits taking place to identify where force has been used. Any use of force giving rise for concern are subject to a deeper review via site CCTV analysis. Issues and learning opportunities are now captured and dealt with swiftly with individuals, site Inspectors and where appropriate GMP’s Professional Standards Branch and Operational Training. As with use of force, the use of Anti-Rip clothing is now scrutinised on a daily basis.
“In relation to the control of medicines and secure storage, the established processes have been reinvigorated with all members of staff, and a revised daily recording and audit process is carried out by Sergeants and by the site Inspector every week.”
ACC Colin McFarlane said: “It is my utmost priority to quickly address these issues and put in place measures which enable our custody staff to do their job effectively, professionally and to the highest standard possible.
The findings of the report is poor for Greater Manchester police (GMP) which was put in special measures early in 2021 for failing to investigate crime poorly and take too long to answer both 999 and non-emergency calls, according to an inspection report..
Only 8.5% of crimes recorded in Greater Manchester in the year ending 31 March 2021 resulted in action being taken, compared with the average of 14.4% in England and Wales. Only West Midlands police fare worse.
At the time the force said its problem was personnel.
Another disturbing report for the force in 2023 highlights a serious problem that needs urgent attention.
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