National Preventive Mechanism Sixth Annual Report 2014–15 overrepresented in police custody, there was still no systematic collection of data that could provide an authoritative national view on police custody, vulnerability and discrimination.10 Improvements in the collection and monitoring of information on the use of force and strip searches were needed, as well as in the quality and quality assurance of custody records, risk assessments and transfer of information about detainees. NPM monitoring identified fragmented and ineffective leadership in court custody, and often filthy and unsanitary conditions. There was little understanding of the needs of vulnerable detainees, and the assessment of risk was poor. Children in detention The welcome fall in the number of children in custody in England and Wales continued in 2014–15, to an average population of 1,048 in 2014–15 (of whom an average of 43 were girls),11 and led to reductions in the number of establishments holding children, resulting in children being detained, on average, further away from home. The most recent available data (for 2013–14) demonstrated an increase in the average number of days that children spent in custody on the previous year,12 and NPM members documented evidence that the children who remained in custody exhibited a more concentrated combination of very challenging behaviour and complex needs than the wider range of children held in the past; establishments struggled to meet these needs. In Wales, the number of ‘justice’ places for children remanded and sentenced by the courts reduced in line with demand in the only secure children’s home, but the number of secure ‘welfare’ places for children subject to a secure welfare order increased. Inspections in England found concerning levels of violence and insufficient time out of cells in YOIs, but positive work in secure training centres and secure children’s homes. Recorded rates of restraint, assault and self-harm have increased across the secure estate for children and young people to a five-year high.13 Health and social care detention Dramatic increases in the numbers of deprivation of liberty applications and cases reaching the court of protection in England and Wales were reported during the year. This followed on from the Supreme Court judgment in P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and another and P and Q v Surrey County Council,14 which expanded the understanding of the definition of ‘deprivation of liberty’ and as a result brought to light an increasing number of people who are recognised as deprived of their liberty. In the six months following the judgment, the numbers of requests from hospitals and care homes for deprivation of liberty safeguards authorisation increased at a rate likely to be at least eight times that of 2013–14. The numbers of applications to the court of protection for authorisation relating to community settings also climbed, and are predicted to climb higher. As a result, local authorities have an unacceptable backlog of 10 HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (2015), op. cit. 11 Ministry of Justice (2015) Youth custody report: August 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/466486/youth-custody-data-august-2015.xls (accessed 14/10/15). 12 Ministry of Justice/ Youth Justice Board (2015) Youth justice annual statistics 2013-14. 13 Ministry of Justice/ Youth Justice Board (2015), op. cit. 14 UK Supreme Court, P v Cheshire West and Chester Council and another and P and Q v Surrey County Council, [2014] UKSC 19. 14