PERSPECTIVE:

Response officers regularly attend a large volume of incidents in one day, and the outcome of the majority of what they respond to is someone being arrested and escorted to custody. Custody can be a challenging environment to work in, so teamwork and adaptability is critical to the success of the entire process, including everyone’s safety. Our detention officers are there to ensure individuals who have been arrested are safe, have access to and understand their rights, and are treated with fairness and dignity.

It’s a quick-changing and fast-paced environment, and no two days are the same, so that sense of teamwork and comradery between different commands and departments is crucial. Therefore, both our response officers and neighbourhood policing teams work closely with our detention officers, and often spend time checking in on their prisoners, or they could be placed on cell watch. Not only that, but some may also work in an overtime capacity to further support their custody colleagues.

One such officer is Dave Cave, and we spent the morning at Birchin Way custody in Grimsby, for an insight into how the cogs keep turning, all the way from cuffs to custody.

We started our morning by shadowing a Custody Sergeant who was authorising the charge and remand of a prisoner, ensuring they understand their rights, and are informed they have a right to a solicitor, medical care and any other support they might require.

Dave then went on to conduct welfare checks on all the detainees, explaining that everyone requires a different level of observation. Some are checked on every hour or half an hour whether that be through the hatch or going into the cell to make sure they’re okay, have plenty to drink, blankets and food, others might be observed via 24/7 CCTV, others on cell watch, depending on their level of vulnerability and need.

Both response and neighbourhood teams may also help the custody teams out by doing fingerprints and gathering DNA, taking custody photos, and answering any questions the detainees may have during their stay. No matter what department you’re in here at Humberside Police, the cogs never stop turning and all our teams interlink in one way or another from cuffs to custody, and beyond.