A recruitment drive has been launched to appoint a new cohort of Independent Custody Visitors to ensure detainees in police custody are being treated correctly.

Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston is on the hunt for passionate and motivated volunteers who can help him maintain high standards of custody welfare.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough PCC launched the recruitment drive for Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs) to provide impartial feedback on the wellbeing of detainees in police custody across the county.

ICVs are volunteers who work as part of a team making unannounced visits to police custody suites where people are brought and held following arrest.

As 'critical friends' of the force, ICVs monitor how well people in custody are being treated and report their findings back to the PCC and the Independent Custody Visiting Scheme manager to enable any recommendations for improvement to be actioned.

The delivery of Ethical Policing is a key pillar of Darryl's Police and Crime Plan, and the ICV scheme forms an integral part of the PCC's oversight duties to maintain public confidence and ensure the force meets stringent national standards on custody provision.

Darryl said: "ICVs help to maintain the public's trust and confidence in policing and, most importantly, protect the rights and dignity of people who are held in police custody.

"Detainees are often highly vulnerable individuals, and the service our volunteers provide ensures they are protected and offered the legal entitlements and support they are entitled to.

"We are fortunate to live in a richly diverse county; therefore, it is important to me to recruit volunteers who are representative of our communities and have valuable insight to offer this scheme."

ICVs visit in pairs and usually conduct one or two visits a month, each lasting between one and two hours plus travel time.

The volunteers talk to detainees directly (with their consent) to find out how they have been treated. ICVs also speak to custody staff and look at the physical condition of the custody suites.

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Serving ICV, Jane, said she joined the scheme upon retirement, wanting to give something back to the community.

"I had never heard of ICVs until I saw a small article in a newspaper explaining what it is all about," she said.

"I wanted to do something deep down and at the roots of a community service. As soon as someone is arrested, they are in an anxious state of mind, therefore vulnerable, whatever has caused the arrest.

"I have a sense of fairness in 'innocent until proven guilty' and that being arrested is not the start of punishment. Therefore, all detainees deserve to be cared for and treated well."

"Building a good rapport with the police staff and detention officers is as important as knowing how to interview the detainees and requires diplomacy, empathy, tact, confidentiality, sensitivity, patience and consideration at all times.

"It is rewarding. At the end of a visit, it is possible to come out feeling a sense of satisfaction that we made a difference to the detainees while in custody."

ICVs can visit anytime, but most visits occur between 7am and 10pm.

To volunteer as an ICV, applicants must be at least 18 years old, living, working or studying in a police area and have been resident in the UK for at least three years before the date of the application.

For more information and to apply, visit the Commissioner's website at: www.cambridgeshire-pcc.gov.uk/get-involved/volunteer-schemes/independent-custody-visitors-scheme/.