| Summary: | In 2016 and 2017, survey data were collected from 473 staff and 371 detainees in 27 custody suites in 13 police forces in England and Wales using two separate closed-question questionnaires. Data were collected about the following themes: (i) perceptions of fairness and the use of authority staff; (ii) the conditions of custody; (iii) reactions to being detained in police custody (detainees); (iv) perceptions of governance and accountability; (v) views on the occupational culture within the custody suite; (vi) distinctions between different types of police custody workers; (vi) the purposes of police custody; (vii) and risk. All of these survey items entailed Likert scale responses of strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree or strongly disagree. Demographic data, as well as information about how long people had worked in or been detained in police custody and what detainees had been arrested for were also collected. Police custody is where an arrested person is taken whilst a decision is reached about what should be done with the case, for example whether to charge or bail them. It is therefore an important gateway to the criminal justice process, where much is at stake for suspects and staff. In recent years, there have been changes to the way that police custody areas are staffed and managed, in particular, civilianization of roles formerly done by police officers has given way to privatization through the use of public-finance initiatives (i.e. when a private security company owns and/or manages a police custody suite and the police let it from them). Though there have been a few recent studies of police custody, including the Principal Investigator's book, 'Police Custody' (Willan, 2011), there have been few attempts to rigorously examine 'good' police custody or to map out changes to police custody arrangements on a national basis. Information about how police custody is currently delivered can be used to theorize about 'good' police custody practices and 'good' policing, and explore how police custody should be delivered in the future. Therefore the aims of the research are to: 1) Describe and appraise variations in police custody arrangements across the UK. 2) Identify the key dimensions of police custody areas in operation. They might include occupational culture(s), power, fairness, justice, emotions and relationships, cost, governance and accountability. 3) Explore how police custody arrangements such as civilianisation and privatisation impact on these key dimensions of police custody. 4) Conceptualise and theorise the dimensions of 'good' police custody and the links between them, and examine the implications for 'good' policing. 5) Develop benchmarks and a survey tool to monitor and improve police custody facilities, complementing the inspections conducted by HMIP/HMIC. The research will be under-taken by a team of researchers over three years: Phase 1 (months 1-6): There will be a survey of all 52 police services in the UK, asking them about the composition of their main police custody facilities in terms of police/civilian input, throughput, and management. This information will be used to describe and appraise types of police custody suites and to select four sites for Phase 2. Phase 2 (months 7-16): In each of these four police custody suites, one month of participant observation will be followed by 52 interviews with staff and the collection of data from official records about suspect experiences and outcomes. In each site, a random sample of 20 suspects will be interviewed about their experiences of police custody. With their consent, they will also be followed up in Phase 3. In Phase 2, these data will be used to identify the key dimensions of police custody areas. They might include occupational culture(s), power, fairness, justice, emotions and relationships, cost, governance and accountability. Phase 3 (months 17-30): Based on the data collected in Phase 2, a survey tool will be designed to test developing theories about the key dimensions of police custody and the impact of police custody arrangements on them. This will be administered to staff and suspects in 1-2 of the busiest police stations in 20 police services in the UK. Suspects identified in Phase 2 will be followed up through a combination of face-to-face interviews and an examination of police records. Phase 4 (months 31-36): The purpose of Phase 3 is to examine the implications of all the data for conceptualising 'good' police custody. This will lead to a set of benchmarks and survey tool for police organisations to measure their performance. Information about this and other key findings will be disseminated to key police stakeholders through an end-of-project conference and workshop. A key impact of the study will be ongoing assessment and reform of police custody to complement HMIP/HMIC inspections.
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