Man self harms while in custody - Kent Police, November 2017
A man detained by Kent Police attempted to cut his throat with a blade apparently smuggled into custody in November 2017. The man had been searched by officers and then placed on constant observations, but was able to secrete the blade and then attempt to self-harm while in police custody. The officer conducting the constant supervision was using their mobile phone at the time. The injuries inflicted were superficial, and officers and custody staff provided the man with prompt first aid.
During the investigation, investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the custody suite, took statements from various witnesses and interviewed the officers involved.
Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the probationary officer who searched the man should have the search element of his training reinforced; we also considered that the performance of the officer responsible for mentoring the probationary officer was not satisfactory. We were of the view that the officer who was on their mobile phone had a case to answer for misconduct, and that the performance of their colleague, who didn’t challenge them, was also unsatisfactory.
Our investigation also highlighted areas for improvement for the force around reinforcing the operational guidance among custody officers and overseeing constant supervision briefings for officers conducting supervision duties.
After reviewing our report, Kent Police agreed with our findings. They advised that the probationary officer would receive detailed training in search techniques to ensure they were properly equipped and trained; that their colleague would be subject to stage 1 of the unsatisfactory performance procedure (UPP); that they would hold a misconduct meeting for the officer for failing to appropriately conduct their duties of constant supervision; and that this officer’s colleague would also be subject to stage 1 UPP.
The misconduct meeting, held in September 2018, resulted in management advice for the officer.