Source · IOPC Learning Case

Man died while in police custody – Nottinghamshire Police, June 2017

Nottinghamshire Police Ref: 2017/087830 Recommended 17 Mar 2022 Response due 17 Mar 2022

Custody and detention

In June 2017, a man was arrested in a park off Sandy Lane, Mansfield on suspicion of a drugs offence shortly after 8pm. He was taken to Mansfield Police Station where he was later found unresponsive in his cell after a routine check the following morning. Paramedics attended and he was sadly pronounced dead at 5:13am that day. We investigated the circumstances surrounding the man’s death, the medical care and treatment he received, and the decisions made by custody officers …

View on IOPC website ↗

Recommendations

2 total

Recommendation 1

The IOPC recommends that Nottinghamshire Police amends its custody assessment process to include a specific question about whether the detainee has any allergies. Where a detainee has indicated they have an allergy this information should be visible to all custody staff so that they can ensure that the detainee is only provided with appropriate items of food or drink. This follows a case where a detained person declared to the custody healthcare professional an allergy, and where they were later provided food which contained the food they were allergic to. Their initial assessment when arriving in custody stated they had no special dietary requirements. The current question that Nottinghamshire Police use relating to dietary requirements as part of its custody assessment process does not make clear that the detainee is also required to share allergy information at this point of their assessment. Do you accept the recommendation? Yes

Addressed to: Nottinghamshire Police

Linked bodies: Nottinghamshire Police

Accepted

Force response

Accepted action: Nottinghamshire Police have accepted this recommendation. An additional question is now asked at the point of booking in by the duty custody Sgt of a detained person. A mandatory question in relation to allergies is now asked :‘Do you have any food allergies that need to be considered whilst you are in custody? If yes, give details.’ If the detained person answers ‘yes’ confirming a food allergy this is now highlighted on the electronic custody record. This is visible to all staff responsible for a detainees’ welfare in care whilst they are in the custody suite. In addition the custody kitchen areas also now display all food available with detailed contents highlighting food suitable for those with particular allergies / vegan / Halal etc. Nottinghamshire Custody engaged with the learning and Development Department for custody training regarding this recommendation and ensured that this was implemented into future custody courses for new joiners and the annual training day for all current employees within the custody facility. To ensure that the learning was delivered immediately the communications of the learning was delivered direct to individuals through team briefings by the Pace Inspectors. It was additionally incorporated into the custody monthly newsletter. The learning was further delivered to the healthcare professionals employed by our service provider. In addition the policy regarding custody procedural has been amended to reflect the specific need of asking the direct question in relation to allergies.

Recommendation 2

The IOPC recommends that Nottinghamshire Police remove the option of a drop-down menu when entering cell observation entries onto the custody log, or otherwise introduce a prompt to the system which reminds detention officers of the need to input further information once an option on the drop-down menu has been selected. This follows an incident where entries recorded on the custody record for a detained person provided inadequate information, in addition to several incorrect entries being recorded. Custody staff explained these errors as being a result of the use of drop-down menus when entering information onto the custody record. Whilst there is a time factor in typing entries rather than using a drop-down menu system, the value in considering a detainee’s welfare more thoroughly in order to construct a custody log entry, in addition to the added clarity and detail provided in a more specific record, outweighs the convenience of a quicker approach. Do you accept the recommendation? Yes

Addressed to: Nottinghamshire Police

Linked bodies: Nottinghamshire Police

Accepted

Force response

Accepted action: Nottinghamshire Police accepts the recommendation to introduce a prompt which reminds detention officers of the need to input further information once an option has been selected. We have reviewed all of the drop down boxes and wording contained within them to ensure that prompts are clear for detention officers to include more detailed information on their visits. We have reviewed our drop down menus on cell visits and made the following changes; 1.When conducting a visit to a detainee who is awake the detention officer will be required to include the following: Nottinghamshire Custody engaged with the learning and Development department for custody training regarding this recommendation and ensured that this was implemented into future custody courses for new joiners and the annual training day for all current employees within the custody facility. The learning was delivered immediately through team briefings by the Pace Inspectors. It was additionally incorporated into the custody monthly newsletter.