Police made accountable for the care of prisoners

originally by: The Independent
published: 17 August 2012

Police officers delegating duties to privately contracted staff in custody suites will be held ultimately responsible for the standard of care and treatment given to detainees, according to new government rules.

Custody sergeants must also be satisfied that those carrying out police tasks, such as monitoring someone’s well-being, are suitable, trained and competent to do so.

The major changes to the Police and Evidence (PACE) codes come four years after the case of Gary Reynolds, who fell into a coma while in the custody of Sussex Police. Mr Reynolds suffered a serious head injury during the arrest but had been identified as drunk, and therefore not checked regularly or roused.

He was found unconscious in his cell hours after the arrest – in a custody suite run by the private company Reliance Security – and left severely paralysed.

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Other News:

Police codes change following IPCC representations
16 August 2012

Posted by Alison Leslie on 20/08/2012. Filed under Breaking News & Digests,Human Rights,Policy & Reform. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry