Abstract
ABSTRACTEvery time a person is booked into police custody in England and Wales, they are assessed for risk of harm to themselves or others. National guidance is provided on what questions should be asked as part of this process; however, each year there are still instances of serious adverse incidents, self-harm and deaths in custody. The purpose of this study is to look at the extent to which the national guidance is being followed and the extent to which the risk assessment process varies between police forces. A Freedom of Information request was sent to all 43 police forces in England and Wales asking for information on their risk assessment process. This data was then analysed alongside findings from police custody inspection visits conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. This study provides evidence that the risk assessment process is not consistent across police forces in England and Wales. Not only does the process vary from the national guidance, the content and delivery differs considerably between police forces. The findings highlight a practical problem for police forces in ensuring that risk assessment processes are conducted to a consistent standard and reflect national guidance. The study is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first time that this data has been collated and compared.
Highlights
The aim of this study is to investigate variation across police forces in England and Wales within the initial risk assessments carried out when a person is booked into police custody
This paper has shown that there is a wide scope for further research around the detainee risk assessment process and the degree of standardisation required to ensure that police forces across England and Wales deliver to a consistent standard and collect information on key issues in order to determine risk and vulnerability
This initial look at variation within the detainee risk assessment process has demonstrated that, in general, police forces do not consistently follow national guidance in terms of questions asked of detainees
Summary
The aim of this study is to investigate variation across police forces in England and Wales within the initial risk assessments carried out when a person is booked into police custody. It is estimated that around a million people are booked and detained in police custody each year (National Preventative Mechanism 2016) across the 43 police forces in England and Wales. The arrest and detention of a person is regulated through the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) (UK Parliament 1984). The Act provides a legislative framework which governs police powers of investigation covering arrest, detention, interrogation, searches and the taking of samples. The detention, treatment and questioning of detainees, detained arrested persons, are covered by PACE Code of Practice C (Home Office 2017). The document states that a risk assessment should be carried out to ‘consider whether the detainee is likely to present specific risks to custody staff, any individual who may have contact with the detainee (e.g. legal advisers, medical staff) or themselves’ (Home Office 2017, 3.6)
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