Response to draft Home Office guidance on custody/lay visiting

Report: 9
Date: 23 January 2001
By: Clerk

Summary

This report is presented to inform members of the draft independent custody visiting questionnaire analysis report and recommendations made. Members are asked to approve the programme proposed for consulting with local panels, the local police and others on the draft report.

A. Supporting information

1. Reports on this subject have been presented to the October (CDO/00/21), November (CDO/00/37) and December (CDO/00/29) meetings of the CDO committee.

2 The Home Office consultation exercise on the draft guidance on lay/custody ended formally on 31 December. An extension has been granted to the MPA. Members recommended that a formal response should be forwarded to the Home Office in January 2001 following the analysis of the consultation with lay visitors and the local police on the draft guidance.

3 The APA also circulated a questionnaire to all police authorities on the same subject. The formal response to the consultation which does not of course benefit form the MPA view is set out in a Circular dated 2nd January.

The draft Home Office guidance on lay/custody visiting

4. Members have already received a copy of the draft Home Office Guidance on lay/custody visiting. The key issue for the MPA is contained in the Home Office expectation that the MPA, like all other police authorities in England and Wales, will assume the full range of responsibilities for the policy direction and administration of the lay visiting scheme in London. This extension of responsibilities was foreshadowed in the Home Office paper outlining the powers, duties, functions and membership of the MPA (January 2000).

5. A copy of the full draft analysis report has been circulated to all MPA members. The following sections are highlighted for members’ consideration.

Lay visiting in London

6. Up until the creation of the MPA there were no very robust central coordination arrangements for lay visiting in London. Local panels have been administered either through local authorities, the police or Police/Community Consultative Groups, and as a result each local panel has developed on a different basis.

7. Because of the disparate way in which the panels in London have operated to date, no criteria exist by which the Metropolitan Police Authority can determine which panels are functioning effectively and efficiently and which are not, which are pursuing good practice and which are not. The MPA needs now to assume full responsibility.

The MPA and lay/custody visiting

8. The relative ‘newness’ of the Metropolitan Police Authority places it in a unique position where it can strongly influence the type and quality of the custody/lay visiting schemes that it wishes to see in place in the Metropolitan Police District.

9. The CDO Committee’s responsibility for outreach could be enhanced through schemes such as the Independent Custody Visiting scheme which is the only scheme in which ordinary members of the public have access to police stations and can hold the police to account for the treatment of detainees.

10. The draft Home Office guidance on custody/lay visiting gives the Metropolitan Police Authority the opportunity, should it wish, to propose a re-launch of the scheme in London, setting clear policies, processes and administrative practices, monitoring and evaluation that will guide the operation of the scheme in support of the national Home Office Guidance for custody/lay visiting, but ensuring that the complex but varied issues which custody/lay visiting in London is faced with are addressed and influence national best practice.

Consultation on the draft Home Office guidance

11. As part of this response to the new Home Office guidance, the Metropolitan Police Authority conducted a limited consultation exercise inviting chairs of local panels and the police in London to give detailed written comments on the revised draft guidance. The further processes utilised are outlined in section 8 of the report and summarised in Appendix 1.

12. In total 66 questionnaires were sent out (33 to local panels and 33 to police personnel in each area who deal with Custody/Lay Visiting). Of these 44 questionnaires were completed (approximately 67% of the total despatched) and returned, (28) from Independent or from local authority panels (85% of the total dispatched to these panels), (14) from the police (just over 40% of the total dispatched to the police), and (2) unidentified. Questionnaires and the draft Home Office report were sent out to the 33 panels and 33 borough OCUs inviting responses on the draft guidance

13. Detailed analysis of all the responses can be found in sections 9-11 of the report. The full analysis data will be made available to members on request and copies will be placed in the members’ room.

Initial conclusions and recommendations

14 It is clear that the lay visiting scheme is important and receives full support from the police and visitors. However, because of the way the scheme has developed in London, and because of the absence of a police authority in its present form to oversee its function in the past, it is evident that there is significant scope for improvement, especially in respect of the running, organising, administration and implementation of the scheme. Only if these changes are introduced can the Independent Custody Visitor scheme operate effectively and efficiently and fully achieve its objectives, for which the Metropolitan Police Authority will now be held accountable.

15. New policies to address a range of areas and improve the overall functioning of the Independent Custody Visitor scheme will need to be developed in a relatively tight timeframe. The findings of this questionnaire provide a sound basis for such action.

16. A summary of the recommendations is attached at Appendix 2. Members will note that these are wide ranging and represent the actions that the actions will need to address and/or implement in order to ensure good practice in administering and policy guidance for the scheme. Panels and the local police will be consulted on these recommendations and a revised report, incorporating these comments and setting out an action plan for officers, will be presented to the March CDO Committee meeting.

B. Recommendations

1. That members approve the consultation process proposed in Appendix 1.
2. That members note the draft recommendations contained in the report. Appendix 2.
3. That Members agree that the report be made available to the Home Office.
4. Subject to further changes, a final report is brought to this committee in March 2001, outlining recommendations to be put to the full Authority Meeting on 12 April 2001.

C. Financial implications

There are financial implications associated with this report and this is contained in paragraph 6 of the MPA questionnaire analysis report .

D. Review arrangements

A further report will be brought to the CDO Committee on 27th March.

E. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed above or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

• The Powers, Functions, and Membership of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). Ian Walsh Home Office, January 2000.
• Draft revised Home Office Guidance on Lay/Custody Visiting. Home Office October 2000.
• CDO Committee reports CDO/00/21, CDO/00/37 and CDO/00/29.
• MPA draft analysis report on lay visiting
• APA Circular 01/2001
• Home Office Review of PCA

F. Contact details

The author of this report is Julia Smith.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1: Framework for consulting on the implementation of independent custody visiting as a key responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Authority

Phase 1 - Pre questionnaire

• Distribution of draft Guidance and questionnaire to all Lay Visiting Panels and Borough Commanders/Borough Liaison Officers for completion.
  November/December 2000
• Consultation meeting with Lay Visiting chairs and Borough Liaison Officers to discuss draft Guidance and generate comments/observations and issues that need to be addressed by the Metropolitan Police Authority.
  November 2000
• Consultation meetings with key organisations such as the APA, MPS and Home Office.
  November/December 2000
• Contracting of researcher to analyse questionnaire response and liaise with Panels, Borough police and other individuals and organisations (chairs, London Chairs Panel, NALV, Home Office etc.) that could contribute to the research development.
• Ongoing contact with chairs and local Panels.
• Establishment of internal member sub group to provide advice and guidance to Officers on emerging Lay Visiting issues and oversee the consultation process and developments leading to the implementation of the scheme by the Authority.

Phase 2 - Draft analysis report

• Seek internal comments and observations on the draft analysis report.
  January 2001
• Circulate draft report for comments to key organisations and individuals including the Home Office, Association of Police Authorities (APA), National Association of Lay Visiting (NAW), chair of London Regional Committee for Lay Visiting, Metropolitan Police Service, Borough Commanders/Liaison Officers with responsibility for custody visiting, Local Authorities, chairs of Panels and all Custody/Lay Visitors in London.
  End February 2001
• Establish small working group of key stakeholders to undertake further developments as identified.
• Appoint Review Officer to progress all aspects of the Authority’s work on Custody/Lay Visiting and develop project plan for implementing Independent Custody Visiting as part of the Metropolitan Police Authority’s area.
• Organise 12 ‘Area’ Meetings to discuss the draft report and its recommendations with Custody/Lay Visitors, local police and other interested groups/individuals.
• Organise meetings with Local Authority Personnel Departments, and others as identified, to discuss employment implications for those employees with responsibility for administering local Panels.
• Review and redraft recommendations, where appropriate, following consultation period.
• Present final report to CDO Committee for ratification before presenting recommendations to full Authority for approval.
• In consultation with Director of Communications, develop draft Marketing & Publicity Plan for launch of Metropolitan Police Authority’s Independent Custody Visiting Scheme for London.

Phase 3 - Implementation phase

To be developed by the Review Officer once appointed and recommendations have been approved by the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Appendix 2: Summary of recommendations

The main recommendations in the report are summarised in this Appendix.

Responsibility for independent custody visiting

That the Metropolitan Police Authority support the principles and recommendations in the Home Office Guidance on Custody/Lay Visiting that it should assume full responsibility for the policy and administration of the Independent Custody Scheme.

Name change

That the Metropolitan Police Authority agree to adopting the name change from Lay Visitors to the formal title ‘Independent Custody Visitor’.

Participation and representation

That the Metropolitan Police Authority introduce measures to ensure that Independent Custody Visitors are representative of their local communities in terms of age, gender and ethnic origins.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority devise policies to ensure that the Independent Custody Visitor scheme is a genuine partnership between local communities and the police.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority highlight and promote the scheme amongst the population of London, to encourage a greater participation rate, greater understanding and greater accountability to local residents.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Communication Unit devise plans for informing and promoting the role of the Metropolitan Police Authority to Custody Visitors and others with an interest in this area of voluntary work.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority implements measures for promoting the scheme on a London wide basis in order to attract new recruits.

Remit

That the Metropolitan Police Authority takes all necessary steps to ensure that the Independent Custody Visiting Scheme operates in accordance with Home Office Guidelines.

Financial matters

That the Metropolitan Police Authority pursue the arrangements already in place for assuming financial responsibility for Independent Custody Visiting from April 2001.

Centre/local roles and responsibilities

That the Metropolitan Police Authority takes steps to clarify the differing role/responsibilities of the centre and local Panels once a decision is made on the model that will be adopted. This will be the responsibility of the Review Officer.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority strives at all times to maintain goodwill and cooperation at the local level during the period in which changes are introduced to the system.

Consultation and transparency

That the Metropolitan Police Authority ensures that local Panels and Independent Custody Visitors, local police and Local Authorities are consulted on the changes proposed for the scheme.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority takes steps to ensure that the concerns of Independent Panels are duly aired and, where appropriate, adequate information is provided to allay concerns/misunderstandings.

A Forum should be established to enable the Metropolitan Police Authority to meet with, listen to, and consult with Independent Custody Visitors. This Forum should be an annual event.

Seek to establish, initially, quarterly area based meetings at which Visitors can be updated and informed of issues as well as bring matters to the attention of each other and the Metropolitan Police and MPS.

Establish, or seek to work within, existing pan-London and national structures to ensure that Visitors are regularly informed and updated on issues pertaining to their role.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority liaise with the Home Office, PAC, NALV and others to seek sponsorship for an annual conference for Independent Custody Visitors.

That the consultation framework proposed in Appendix A be made available to Visitors, local police and others in order to promote transparency.

Processes are devised to ensure that Independent Custody Visitors and local police interface regularly to discuss matters concerning the scheme and areas for improvement.

Best practice

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops Good Practice Guidelines to which it will expect local Panels/Visitors to aspire.

That the Metropolitan Police authority explores the practices of other police authorities in this area to inform its own practices.

Conflict of interest

That the Metropolitan Police Authority ensures that the police do not themselves sit on local Independent Custody Visiting Panels as Panel members (in line with the Guidance). This will remove the clear conflict of interest which arises when the police sit on Panels which are meant to hold them to account. Safeguarding the integrity, independence and effectiveness of the scheme is paramount.

Recruitment & tenure

That the Metropolitan Police Authority introduce standard recruitment procedures that include a fast tracking system for new recruits. It can currently take several months to process the application of a new recruit whereas a streamlined procedure should only take a matter of days.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority agrees to a three year initial appointment as an Independent Custody Visitor.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops monitoring and review criteria for assessing and reviewing the performance of Visitors beyond the initial three year appointment.

Complaints

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops appropriate criteria to govern recruitment, performance and misconduct in consultation with local Panels.

That these criteria should clearly illustrate what the Metropolitan Police Authority means by ‘good’ and ‘poor’ performance, and what constitutes ‘misconduct’ or a disciplinary offence.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develop a Complaints Procedure.

That this Complaints Procedure clearly indicates who can make a complaint (against who), how the complaints system will operate, what right of appeal/defence an individual will have, and what punishments can be meted out.

That this Complaints Procedure be submitted for local consultation and feedback once it has been drafted.

That the Metropolitan Police Service develops guidance for Visitors concerning dealing with complaints.

That processes be devised for records of all complaints to be brought to the attention of the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Professional Standards and Monitoring Committee.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority design a form that can be used by all Panels across London. These should be designed to allow the police to write in the bottom what actions they have taken in response to a complaint/suggestion.

Expenses

That Independent Custody Visitors continue to be paid expenses.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority give consideration to Visitors being able to claim late night taxi fares, childcare costs and a contribution towards parking.

Training

That the Metropolitan Police Authority examines all aspects of current training to establish appropriateness and deficiencies.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops a standardised training programme for all Independent Custody Visitors in London.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority introduces measures to allow for refresher courses and ongoing training where this is deemed appropriate.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority stipulates clearly through its training schemes the overall objectives of the Independent Custody Visiting scheme and the roles/responsibilities and duties of the Independent Custody Visitor.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority issue information and guidance to Independent Custody Visitors regarding prejudicing ongoing investigations.

Appropriate adults

That the Metropolitan Police Authority, with the Social Services Inspectorate, Youth Justice Board and other relevant organisations, explores practices relating to Independent Custody Visitors becoming Appropriate Adults.

Where appropriate, that the Metropolitan Police Authority develops guidance for Independent Custody Visitors as Appropriate Adults.

Access to detainees

The Metropolitan Police Authority should consult with the APA, Youth Justice Board and others, to explore whether further guidance can be developed for Visitors concerning access to vulnerable detainees.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority liaise with DMG Action Teams, mental health charities and others who have access to detainees to establish best practice.

Custody records

That the Metropolitan Police Authority, with the support of the MPS, produce immediate guidance based on the Home Office Guidance, for all Borough Commanders and Custody Officers on access to custody records.

Code of conduct

That the Metropolitan Police Authority undertake to devise a Code of Conduct for Independent Custody Visiting.

Custody visitor reports & annual reports

That a copy of the Independent Custody Visitors report be sent to the Borough Commander.

Reports should be used as a source of local information and discussion at Panel level. These reports should inform discussions by the Metropolitan Police Authority and its sub-committees relating to local treatment of detainees in custody.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority ensures that it receives copies of all custody visit reports to inform its monitoring and valuation of the scheme and addresses issues relating to policy that are contained in these reports.

The Metropolitan Police Authority undertakes to address Lay Visiting matters in its Annual Report.

Monitoring, evaluation & harmonisation

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops measurements/criteria to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of Independent Custody Visiting schemes across London.

Such measures could include, for example:

1. Visitor attendance rates at police stations to establish which stations are being under-visited.
2. Figures on the number of detainees who refuse to see an Independent Custody Visitor and, where possible, establish the reasons for such refusals and attempt to address them.
3. Figures on the proportion of detainees by race, gender, age, sexual orientation, mental health status, refugee status etc.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority introduce measures to ensure greater effectiveness, coordination and harmonisation of standards and processes of the Independent Custody Visiting scheme across London.

Code of conduct

That the Metropolitan Police Authority develops and implements a Code of Conduct for Independent Custody Visitors.

Publicity, information flow & image

That the Metropolitan Police Authority takes responsibility for publicising and raising awareness and understanding of the Independent Custody Visiting scheme and promotes its profile throughout London.

That all necessary public relations/publicity/media initiatives are undertaken at a local and pan-London level to achieve this end.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority coordinates a pan-London recruitment campaign.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority’s Communications Department develops a strategy for promoting this area of work as a central core of the Metropolitan Police Authority’s role.

That channels of dialogue and information flow/exchange between the police and the Metropolitan Police Authority and Independent Custody Visitors be strengthened and improved.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority establishes a highly professional image and ensures that all publicity material released is of the highest standard.

That the Metropolitan Police Authority Communications Department establish a link site for Independent Custody Visiting on the main MPA website, thus allowing Visitors and potential Visitors instant access to a wide range of MPA and other selected information.

CCTV

That the CCTV Working Party reports back on its findings and recommendations.

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