Complaints about treatment during arrest and detention - Norfolk Constabulary, November 2015

On 23 November 2015 a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old man were arrested by Norfolk Constabulary officers. The girl was detained in Norfolk police custody until later that evening, and the man until the following day.

A complaint was later received about their treatment during arrest and detention. The complaint alleged that, during the arrest officers handcuffed the girl unnecessarily; officers did not allow her to finish her meal before taking her to custody; officers did not wait for her father (in addition to her mother, who was present) to return home before conveying her to custody; officers did not immediately allow her father to act as her appropriate adult; the girl was only seen by medical professionals in custody following protestations from her father; officers and staff gave insufficient consideration to her mental health needs throughout her contact with police.

The complaint also alleged that the man was not allowed to change from his pyjama bottoms before being taken to the police station, was released in the same clothing, and was not provided with a meal during his detention. The complaint further alleged that clothing seized contained property that was not relevant to the investigation.

The investigation also looked at consideration given to the provision of an appropriate adult for the man and whether it was necessary to detain him overnight in a cell when he was under the age of 18.

During the investigation, statements were taken from a number of police witnesses and staff. Custody CCTV footage and custody documentation was reviewed, as well as relevant legislation and local and national polices.

There was no indication that a criminal offence had been committed, or that disciplinary action for any police officers or staff would be reasonable in the circumstances. Therefore, on analysis of the evidence, the Lead Investigator indicated whether the complaints should be upheld or not. Of the nine separate complaints, seven were not upheld and two were partially upheld:

• The complaint that the man was not provided with a meal during his detention was partially upheld as the evidence indicated that he was offered a meal the morning after his arrival but, due to timings, he just missed on the 6pm meal time the previous day. Whilst the evidence suggested that he may not have complained about the lack of food at the time, it would seem reasonable for him to be provided with a meal outside of designated times in such circumstances.
• The complaint that clothing seized contained property not relevant to the investigation was also partially upheld. The evidence suggested that it was necessary to take the item. However, it appears that, due to human error, the property contained in the item of clothing was not returned as promptly as it should have been.

The investigation identified some potential areas for review for the force. Firstly in relation to allowing flexibility to provide meals outside of set times, taking account of when the detainee last had a meal, and secondly in relation to the availability of alternative accommodation for children overnight.