The Commissioner has in place an effective ICV Scheme, however, visiting is limited to who ICVs meet on their visit to Custody. ICVs make visits to each Custody Suite once per week and it is uncertain how many vulnerable detained persons (DPs) will be in Custody at the time of the visit and who will be available to visit. In addition, it depends on how long a DP has been held to get an understanding of the care afforded to them. For example, if a child has only been held in Custody for one hour, the ICVs may not know if there is a delay in receiving Appropriate Adult (AA) provision or if they were subsequently held overnight.
In order to get a better insight into the totality of care extended to vulnerable DPs, Derbyshire developed a new form of oversight – the Custody Record Review (CRR) scheme to examine the full Custody Record of a DP to consider, in-depth, their full journey through Custody.
How Does the CRR Scheme Work?
Each week, a pair of volunteers—usually Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs)—review up to five redacted custody records. These records are securely shared via an online system, and the assigned volunteers coordinate with each other to agree on a date and time for the review. Reviews are typically conducted virtually using platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom.
The custody records are randomly selected by the scheme manager and include cases involving:
- Mental health
- Juveniles
- Females
- Immigration detainees
- Strip searches
- Alcohol and drug-related incident
Once the records have been reviewed, you will then complete an electronic report form which is used to inform the Commissioner’s office and Scheme Manager of any issues found. The scheme manager will then raise any issues ICVs have reported to the lead of custody within force.
Training for CRRs
Training for CRRs will be granted to all new ICVs to ensure they understand the relevant law requirements for the care and custody of detainees. Further information on training can be found on the ICV page here.