The aim of this inspection was to assess the treatment of and conditions for those detained in police custody centres located in Tayside Division. The division is served by three primary centres at Arbroath, Dundee and Perth. The inspection was linked to our review of local policing in Tayside Division, published in November 2017.

Our inspections of the three custody centres in Tayside Division were unannounced and took place in September 2017. We revisited Dundee custody centre in November 2017.

Our inspections of police custody contribute to the United Kingdom’s response to its international obligations under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or 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 the treatment of and conditions for detainees. HMICS is one of several bodies making up the NPM in the UK.