The scheme enables appointed volunteers to visit police station custody suites at any time of day or night, to check on the treatment of detainees, the conditions in which they are held and that their rights and entitlements are being observed.

It offers protection to both detainees and police, and reassurance to the wider public. ICVs carry out between two and four visits to custody suites per month, and complete and submit a simple report after each visit.

Visits must be undertaken in pairs for health and safety reasons and generally last no more than an hour.

It is important that visitors are able to compare different custody suites and the standards within them, so volunteers visit more than one suite in their relevant geographical cluster and at varying times of the day and of the week wherever possible.

More information here: Independent Custody Visiting – Essex Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (pfcc.police.uk)

Our custody visiting panel members must be over 18 years of age and are welcomed from all sections of the community. They must be independent of the criminal justice system to prevent possible conflicts of interest and to maintain the integrity of the scheme. Therefore, serving police officers and other serving members of Police or PFCC staff are unsuitable for this reason. The same applies to Special Constables, Justices of the Peace (JPs), and Police, Fire and Crime Panel members.