Concerns raised over care in police custody

A review of police custody facilities in Forth Valley has raised concerns about the level of care being put in place for vulnerable detainees.

- KAIYA MARJORIBANKS

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland carried out a joint inspection of the police custody centre at Falkirk Police Station, which also covers Stirling and Clackmannanshire.

As part of the inspection, they examined 40 records from a sample of 383 people who had been detained in the Forth Valley area's only police custody centre in November last year.

They noted 29 detainees had been assessed as being at 'high risk,' following a vulnerability risk assessment - meaning they should be under constant observation or visited and roused at 15 or 30 minute intervals. Yet of those marked as 'high risk,' 15 were given the same level of cell check as those deemed to be of low risk, without any other apparent risk mitigation in place.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, Craig Naylor, said: "Effective risk assessment is vital to ensure that detainees can be managed and cared for appropriately.

"The number of instances where a detainee is deemed to be high risk but remains on standard observations with no mitigation in place - or recorded as being in place - remains an ongoing concern.

"We recently raised this same issue following our joint inspection of custody in Ayrshire, where we recommended that Police Scotland should ensure custody staff have a clear understanding of what response is required for each of the defined observations levels and that these are applied consistently.

"This recommendation clearly has relevance for the Falkirk custody centre."

Inspectors from HMICS and HIS carried out an onsite review of the custody centre at Falkirk Police Station in February 2025.

As part of the inspection, HMICS staff also reviewed the Police Scotland National Custody System (NCS).