Recommendation 1
The IOPC recommends that the NPCC should communicate to police chiefs, custody leads and fleet leads the importance of regularly conducting safety checks of cage van doors to ensure locking mechanisms are in working order.
This recommendation follows a death or serious injury (DSI) investigation by Surrey Police in relation to an incident in which a detainee fled from the rear of a moving police van and sustained a broken wrist. Subsequent checks of the vehicle found that the cell door had been damaged from the inside and that the lock had been broken. It is believed that the damage occurred as a result of the door being kicked. The officers inside the van at the time did not report hearing the male kicking the door and it is therefore likely that the van door was already broken prior to the detainee being placed inside. The force confirmed that there is no current working practice where the locking mechanisms of van doors are checked during routine inspections of vehicles prior to operational use.
Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council
Linked bodies:
National Police Chiefs Council