Lancashire Police told it needs more CCTV, and needs to be clearer on legal rights to suspects
The findings have come from a recent inspection of custody suites across the force
Lancashire Police have been told they need more CCTV, and needs to improve on telling people their legal rights, at appropriate times, when suspects are being held in custody.
In the inspection, across a number of custody suites, inspectors raised concerns that some cells did not have any CCTV, meaning detainees were often moved between cells in order to prioritise people who were deemed higher risk.
As a recommendation for improvement inspectors have recommended that "the constabulary should increase the number of cells covered by CCTV to better manage detainee risks"
Inspectors found that custody officers within the force give good explanations to detainees about their legal rights, but they found that officers who don't inform of detainee of those rights, because of alcohol or violence, don't always subsequently inform the detainee of those rights in retrospect.
In some instances detainees were several hours into detention before they were told of their rights and entitlements
It's been recommended that the force makes sure that "detainees who aren’t informed of their rights and entitlements, because they are deemed incapable of understanding them, are given this information at the earliest opportunity"
The force was inspected jointly by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March 2023.