Under the revised States of Jersey Police Force Law 2012, an amendment was agreed by the States Assembly in 2017 for the JPA to provided an Independent Custody Visiting service as a statutory requirement. States of Jersey Police Force Law
Our role in independent custody visiting
In the UK, ICVA is a Home Office funded organisation set up to promote and support the effective provision of custody visiting nationally. A national resource on custody visiting, ICVA works closely with government and criminal justice organisations to:
- Raise public awareness on the rights , entitlements, health and wellbeing of people held in police custody
- Advise on best practice for independent custody visiting schemes nationally
- Provide training, publicity and support to Police and Crime Commissioners and ICVs.
For ICVs
ICVA values and respects the work of independent custody visitors, who play a vital role in raising standards of custody and the treatment of detainees. It provides support to ICVs right across the UK, from initial training to regional and national conferences and publications, keeping them up to speed on latest policies and sharing best practice. ICVA liaises directly with ICVs regularly and encourages their direct feedback in the form of queries, concerns or suggestions relating to custody visiting.
For those in custody
ICVA plays an active role in promoting fair treatment for people in police custody to ensure that the wellbeing of detainees is monitored locally and that issues relating to individuals or the custody environment are addressed appropriately. ICVA’s training scheme promotes prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable detainees.
For the Police Service
ICVA works with PCCs to enhance partnerships and provide a service that assists the police in the effective operation of schemes locally for all involved in the process. Specifically ICVA provides:
- advice and support to those police officers responsible for facilitating custody visiting
- assistance in ensuring that improvements suggested by the HMIC & HMIP Joint Inspections and action plans are monitored
- a sounding board for issues relating to custody visiting
- an advisory body for the police service to refer national issues.
Although we are not a Home Office Funded organisation, we have a membership with ICVA in order that we can follow best practice in running an effective and efficient custody visiting service.
If you would like to find out more about becoming an ICV in Jersey, please see the role profile here; ICV ROLE PROFILE and contact us using the form on the contacts page.