Members of an independent group established by Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis have now turned the spotlight on vital work carried out to check on people in custody.
The Ethics, Transparency and Audit (ETA) Committee was launched under the new dawn of transparency agenda by Mr Ellis and aims for Staffordshire to be the most open and transparent police force in the country, an ambition which is shared by the Chief Constable.
An independent body, the panel is made up of local people and is one of the Commissioner’s drivers that opens the police to even greater public scrutiny. It has been provided with wide powers by the PCC and puts decisions by Staffordshire Police under the spotlight, as well as those made by the PCC.
After shining the spotlight on crime recording and forensics, committee members yesterday (Thursday) turned their attention to reports by Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs) which are submitted about every detainee visited.
ICVs are volunteers appointed by the PCC to check on the wellbeing of people in held in custody by Staffordshire Police. The 47 volunteers make regular, unannounced visits to custody sites throughout the year.
ETA members looked at 2013/14 ICV reports which included details about visits to detainees and any issues that needed addressing by custody staff. The initial findings were that ICVs’ work is effective but there needed to be greater consistency in the preparation of reports and that consideration should be given to increasing the number of visits during the early hours of the morning. The committee will also look in more detail at how ICV’s recommendations are followed up by custody staff.
Mr Ellis said: “This is the latest valuable piece of work by the ETA and is exactly what they are here for – to open up the police to even greater public scrutiny.
“Custody visitors play a pivotal role in making sure people are treated properly in custody and are essential in promoting public confidence in how the police work.
“Honest and independent scrutiny by the public is crucial as we strive to set the bar higher and create a new dawn of transparency in policing.
“This panel has already used its wide-ranging and rigorous powers to scrutinise crime recording and forensics to make sure decisions made by the police are correct and in the victims’ best interests. We’re looking for more members of the public to step forward and get involved in this vital work.”
People interested in joining the committee can find more details at www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/eta
