Volunteer Schemes

“Independent Custody Visiting is the well-established system whereby volunteers attend police stations to check on the treatment of detainees and the conditions in which they are held and that their rights and entitlements are being observed. It offers protections to both detainees and the police and reassurance to the community at large.”
— Home Office Code of Practice, 2003

Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs) are members of the community who have been selected through an interview and training process. They come from a variety of backgrounds and sections of the community. They must be over 18 and have no direct involvement in the criminal justice system, for example, magistrates, serving police officers or special constables are excluded. Their main duty is to visit police stations unannounced to check on the welfare of people in police custody. Visits are always undertaken in pairs.

Role of the ICV

Custody Suites are visited weekly, with the actual timing being totally at their own discretion. On arrival at the custody suite, ICVs are escorted to the custody area. The detainees are identified by their custody number allowing the strictest application of confidentiality. Interviews with detainees are normally carried out within sight, but out of hearing of the escorting officer to ensure the highest level of personal safety.

A report is completed after each visit. It provides an insight into the running of the custody area at the time of the visit. Copies of the report are provided for the Police, Police and Crime Commissioner and the Independent Custody Visitor. Information provided is vital evidence on the environmental and welfare conditions in which the detainees are held. The information is analysed and the areas for action are highlighted.

Please see the report below which summarises the work of the scheme during the past year:

ICV Panels

There are two panels of ICVs in Warwickshire, one for the north of the county (8 members) and one for the south (13 members). The Northern Panel visit the custody suite in the Nuneaton Justice Centre and the Southern Panel visit detainees held at the Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa.

Each panel has its own panel co-ordinator, taken from their ranks. Panel co-ordinators have additional responsibility in relation to the scheme which includes:

• producing the annual visiting roster
• arranging and chairing panel meetings
• raising issues arising from visits with the relevant police Inspector
• identifying training needs
• meeting on a regular basis with the designated officer in the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

Responsibility for the provision of an Independent Custody Visitor Service

Responsibility for the provision of an Independent Custody Visitor Service transferred from the former Police Authority to Police and Crime Commissioners in November 2012.
A member of staff of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has overall responsibility for the administration of the scheme, working closely with the Chairs of the two ICV Panels.

Independent Custody Visiting Association

Warwickshire’s Office of Police and Crime Commissioner is a member of the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA), which is voluntary organisation that promotes the custody visiting process nationally by providing support and advice to Police and Crime Commissioners and training for visitors.

The Association assists the Home Office, Police and Crime Commissioners and other interested bodies to develop best practice for custody visiting schemes and to increase public awareness and understanding. Their website can be found at www.icva.org.uk.

The Appropriate Adult Scheme is designed to support vulnerable adults in Warwickshire who have contact with the police, to safeguard their interests, rights, entitlements and welfare.

‘Appropriate adults’ are members of the public who volunteer to ensure people with mental ill-health, learning difficulties and autism are treated fairly when they are interviewed by the police.

The scheme ensures that vulnerable people can understand the criminal justice process, reducing the risk of miscarriages of justice as a result of evidence being obtained from suspects which lead to unjust convictions.

In Warwickshire, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has established an Appropriate Adult Scheme for vulnerable people aged 18 or over. This operates across the Warwickshire Police custody centres at Leamington Spa and Nuneaton.

Separate arrangements are already in place to provide appropriate adults to children and young people under the age of 18.

What does an appropriate adult do?

An appropriate adult can be requested to support a vulnerable person throughout some of the important stages they will go through during their stay in custody. This can include when they first receive their rights and entitlements, when they are interviewed or if they are searched, tested for drugs or DNA samples obtained. It will also include if the person is charged with an offence.

Appropriate adults can also be requested to accompany a vulnerable person at any voluntary interviews they attend.

The appropriate adult does not give legal advice. Instead, he or she is there to ensure the detained person is treated fairly.

Volunteers need to be flexible and available to attend police custody facilities at short notice.

You can find out more about the role on the National Appropriate Adult Network website.

We’re an award winning scheme!

In 2022 our scheme won a Lord Ferrers Award in recognition of the outstanding help and support it has provided to vulnerable people since being established earlier in the year.

In their first six months, the Appropriate Adults completed an amazing 200 hours of voluntary service through more than 70 call-outs, helping to support at least 65 vulnerable adults during that time.

Their efforts were commended by the Lord Ferrers Awards judges, who selected the Warwickshire scheme as the winner of the OPCC Volunteer Award.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “To have won a prestigious Lord Ferrers Award within the first year of operation is an extremely impressive achievement and shows the phenomenal efforts our volunteers have made to ensuring the success of the scheme.

“The quality of support they have offered to some of the most vulnerable and often frightened detainees has been extremely valuable, not only to the individuals concerned but also in terms of the feedback they are able to give my office and the force about the standards and processes within the custody environment.”

If you are interested in becoming an Independent Custody Visitor or an Appropriate Adult in Warwickshire, we are keen to hear from you.  Email the OPCC with your contact details and why you would like to be involved and we will get in touch when vacancies on our schemes arise.

Email:  opcc@warwickshire.police.uk