Use of force and care during custody - Humberside Police, August 2019

On 9 August 2019 a woman reported to Humberside Police she was being held against her will. Officers visited her at her home and established there was a domestic dispute between the woman and her parents, linked to her mental health and drug and alcohol abuse. The woman assaulted an officer and appeared to consume an unknown amount of medication. She also struggled violently during her arrest and the officers used force to restrain her. They took the woman to hospital, where a doctor assessed her and authorised her discharge the same day. The police officers then took her to a custody suite, where the woman continued to be violent and attempted to self-harm. The officers used further force to restrain her during her time in custody. She was charged with offences and taken to court the following morning. Following her admission to prison, authorities there questioned the length of time the woman was kept restrained while in police custody.

Following a referral from the force, we began an investigation and examined Humberside Police records, custody CCTV and body-worn video footage relevant to the woman’s police detention. We conducted witness interviews with several officers and staff involved in the woman’s arrest and detention and examined their interactions with the woman, with particular focus on the risks associated with her, her care, and the use of force.

During our investigation, we identified an initial indication of alleged misconduct on the part of a custody officer over use of force and their recording of it, and their decision making in relation to the woman’s period in custody. This officer retired from Humberside Police during our investigation, however, they cooperated fully and provided a detailed account of their decision making and rationale.

At the end of our investigation we concluded that overall in our opinion, the officers exercised sound judgement in determining the level of force required and the frequency of its use.

The officers who conducted cell watch duties appeared to have considered the woman’s and their own safety to be a priority and made efforts to engage with her in an empathetic and professional manner.

In respect of the one specific custody officer, we concluded that, had they still been serving, they would have had no case to answer for misconduct, but failings identified would have been suitably addressed by management action.

We completed our investigation in March 2020. We shared our report with Humberside Police, who agreed with this outcome and that staff working within the custody environment would benefit from a reminder about the importance of accurate record keeping on custody records, in line with existing policies and procedures.