National Preventive Mechanism Annual Report 2009–10 Northern Ireland Policing Board Independent Custody Visiting Scheme T he Independent Custody Visiting Scheme in Northern Ireland is made up of volunteers from the community who carry out regular, unannounced visits to custody suites in police stations. The volunteers, known as custody visitors, monitor the rights, health and wellbeing and the conditions of detention of those held in police custody. The Custody Visiting Scheme was first established in Northern Ireland in 1991 and was made statutory by the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000. Visits are made to detainees held under Code C of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Immigration Act 1971. Methodology Custody visitors are recruited through open advertising and are appointed to serve a maximum of six years. During the recruitment process, attempts are made to ensure that visitors are as representative of the community as possible. While the Custody Visiting Scheme as a whole is independent of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), individual volunteers themselves must also be independent of the criminal justice system (for example, police officers or magistrates are not permitted to volunteer). Custody visitors receive training which is supported by a custody visiting handbook, detailing how visits should be carried out and setting out a code of practice for visitors. Specialist training, with particular emphasis on human rights, is provided for those visiting detained terrorist suspects. Pairs of visitors make unannounced visits on any day of the week and at any time of day or night. Visitors will only speak to detainees or view their custody record if the detainee consents. A report is made of every visit and is shared with the Chief Constable of the PSNI and the Policing Board. Any issues of concern identified by the custody visitors and which remain unresolved within a reasonable timeframe will be followed up by the Policing Board. In addition, quarterly statistics relating to custody visits, and an annual report based on the visits of all four teams, are published. The Custody Visiting Scheme is administered and supported by the Northern Ireland Policing Board, an independent, statutory body whose role is to hold the PSNI to account for the delivery of police services in Northern Ireland. The Policing Board itself is made up of members from the four largest political parties in Northern Ireland, as well as independent members appointed by the Department of Justice. 60 At 31 March 2010, there were 57 custody visitors carrying out visits to 21 designated police custody suites across Northern Ireland. The visitors are divided into four teams, each covering a specific geographical area: • Belfast/Antrim – responsible for nine custody suites • Down/Armagh – responsible for four custody suites • North West – responsible for four custody suites • Tyrone/Fermanagh – responsible for four custody suites. OPCAT compliance and impact of NPM membership The ability of custody visitors to carry out very regular visiting of police detention facilities enables them to fulfil the preventive role envisaged by OPCAT. Over the years, custody visitors have identified hundreds of issues which, without resolution, may have had significantly adverse outcomes for detainees. Custody visitors in Northern Ireland enjoy a close relationship with fellow custody visiting schemes within the UK’s NPM, even undertaking joint training with custody