Custody Inspection Report - Argyll and West Dunbartonshire

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is established under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and has wide ranging powers to look into the ‘state, effectiveness and efficiency’ of both the Police Service of Scotland (Police Scotland) and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). HMICS has a statutory duty to inquire into the arrangements made by the Chief Constable and the SPA to meet their obligations in terms of best value and continuous improvement. If necessary, it can be directed by Scottish Ministers to inspect anything relating to the SPA or Police Scotland as they consider appropriate.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national improvement agency for health and social care. It is responsible for supporting healthcare providers to deliver high quality care and scrutinising those services to provide public assurance about the quality and safety of that care.

Places of detention, including police custody centres within the UK, are monitored as part of the human rights treaty: ‘Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT)’. OPCAT requires that all places of detention are visited regularly by a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), an independent body or group of bodies which monitor detainee treatment and conditions. HMICS is one of several bodies making up the NPM in the UK.

Joint HMICS/HIS custody inspections focus on the delivery of custody services by Police Scotland and associated healthcare provision by NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland. These are underpinned by the joint HIS and HMICS Framework to inspect that ensures a consistent, objective and human rights-based approach to the collaborative work.

This inspection was undertaken by HMICS in terms of Section 74(2)(a) of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and is laid before the Scottish Parliament in terms of Section 79(3) of the Act.