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Our inspection
During the course of 2022, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) collaborated on a baseline review of the provision of healthcare services to police custody centres across Scotland. A report outlining our findings and recommendations was published in January 2023. We used learning from the review to develop a framework to inspect healthcare services within police custody, and to devise a methodology for the joint inspection of police custody centres.
On completion of the baseline review, scrutiny partners agreed to undertake two joint custody inspections to further develop inspection methodology. We initially inspected and published reports on the primary custody centres in Lanarkshire and Tayside. We thereafter commenced a programme of joint custody inspections for 2023-24, including custody centres in Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, and Ayrshire. We have since commenced a programme of joint custody centre inspections for 2024-25, and this report is the first of these, carried out at the custody centres in Clydebank and Oban within the Argyll and West Dunbartonshire police division.
The inspection was carried out by HMICS and HIS, the aim of which was to assess the treatment of, and conditions for, individuals detained at the custody centres. We have outlined our findings on the delivery of healthcare at the centres in separate sections in this report. This is because the responsibility for healthcare provision at Clydebank and Oban custody centres is covered by different health boards.
This report provides an analysis of the quality of custody centre operations as well as the provision of healthcare services in the custody centres and consequently makes recommendations for both Police Scotland and the healthcare providers.
While recommendations outlined in this report have specific relevance for Clydebank and Oban custody centres, we recognise that some of these will be equally applicable to other custody centres across Scotland and should be considered in future improvement planning by Police Scotland’s Criminal Justice Services Division (CJSD). We consider recommendations 1 and 3 from this report to have such relevance.
During this inspection, we found common themes that featured as recommendations and areas for improvement in the aforementioned custody inspection reports. We have referenced these within the body of this report where relevant.
The onsite stage of the inspection took place in May 2024. As part of our inspection, we reviewed the Police Scotland National Custody System (NCS) and examined a representative sample of detainees processed at the custody centres during March 2024. We assessed the physical environment, including the quality of cells, and observed key processes and procedures relevant to police custody operations. We also spoke with people detained at the custody centres and interviewed custody staff and healthcare professionals during our visit.
This report, similar to recent inspection reports on Fife and Ayrshire, highlights our concerns regarding a lack of consistency in the recording of information on NCS. While some aspects of custody centre operations were recorded well, such as hand-over records, the recording of information relating to criminal justice decisions and care plans was found to be lacking. Despite raising this issue on several occasions, we found disparities, in some cases, between the risk assessments undertaken and the corresponding care plans put in place. There was significant use of CCTV monitoring to mitigate risk but without satisfactory recording and a related rationale.
While we found the provision of healthcare services at Clydebank to be generally good, inspectors have made several recommendations for the improvement of healthcare provision at the Oban custody centre.
Police custody has been subject to considerable scrutiny by HMICS since Police Scotland was established. Since 2013, HMICS has published several custody inspection reports, the findings from which can be found on our website. Police Scotland has made progress in implementing previous recommendations and improvement actions in respect of custody services and is actively working to address those that remain outstanding.
We wish to thank the officers and staff of the Criminal Justice Services Division of Police Scotland, as well as the health boards/HSCPs responsible for healthcare in the centres inspected.
The custody inspection programme is overseen by Ray Jones, Lead Inspector at HIMCS, with support from HMICS Associate Inspectors and HIS inspectors.
Craig Naylor
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary
October 2024