The people that go behind bars in the Black Country

Tiny rooms. Paper-thin mattresses. The clank of the cell door as it slams closed behind you. The thought of each sends a shiver down most people’s spines.

And yet, for some, the idea of spending time in custody presents an entirely different set of emotions. It represents caring and hope.

The opportunity to help somebody in need.

Not many people would choose to spend time inside Oldbury's custody suite. Yet that’s exactly what Wendy Charles and Cherie Franklin, two women who volunteer as custody visitors, have done.

“It’s transparency,” says charity worker Wendy, when asked why she volunteers.

“And it’s for the general public to also know that their voices are being heard and their rights respected, by someone who’s not a police officer.

“I think sometimes the arrested person has an issue with the police officer trying to help. Whereas if it’s somebody not in uniform, someone that they see as independent, they’re sometimes more likely to speak to us than an officer.

“They might say that they’re hungry to us, whereas they might not say that to the officer.

“And I also think it’s important for the police perspective. “It kind of safeguards them, into not being reported for a false allegation.”

The custody visitor scheme, established in 1981, was set up “to check on the rights, entitlements, well-being and dignity of detainees held in police custody.”

It operates around the idea that, no matter what they are accused of, no detainee should be deprived of their basic human rights.

Under the scheme volunteers receive training to visit custody blocks across the country, where they check on the physical and mental well-being of detainees, as well as the environment in which they are being kept.

Volunteers conduct their visits in pairs and can demand access to a custody unit whenever they see fit. They can only be refused access to a detainee if there is a danger to their safety, or if the detainee refuses the visit.

“We turn up unannounced,” continues Wendy, who has been volunteering for the custody visitors scheme since the turn of the year.

“The guys here don’t know we’re coming. We can come any time, days, nights, evenings, weekends.

“First of all we’ll ask if they [the people in custody] are happy to see us. Have they had food, have they had a drink, have they had their phone call? Has the solicitor been contacted for them? Have they managed to contact family to let them know where they are?

“They are given a set of rights when they first come in. “Have they been issued with that? Can they read it? “Sometimes communication issues mean that we have to see if they understand what they’ve been given, or if they need us to go through it with them.

“And anything they might throw back at us, we’ll try and answer as best as we can.”

Oldbury custody suite is where detainees are kept after first being arrested, before it is decided whether to charge or release them.

On Thursday, Wendy and Cherie visited four different people being held in the Bromford Road unit. Their comments ranged from needing something to eat to finding out how long they would be held in custody.

But they all seem relieved at the opportunity to speak to Wendy and Cherie.

Everyone has the right to refuse to speak to the visitors but very few do, a trend which Cherie says is a regular occurrence.

“Today’s the first time I’ve ever had anybody refuse to see us,” she says, after working as a volunteer for six months.

“To most people, we’re normal people, we’re not the police, we’re not in uniform. They see us on their level really, and they’ll talk to us more.

“I thought I’d get a lot more hostility from people but nobody’s been like that.  They’ve all been lovely.”

A recent hike in the number of volunteers for the custody visitors programme has seen an increase in visits. It used to be that custody suites like Oldbury would only be visited once a week. However, since the turn of the year, this has been increased to at least two.

The timing of this could not have been better. According to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) 23 people died during or after police custody in 2017 – the highest number for a decade.

Custody volunteers are clearly a vital part of the system, then. But how do they deal with detainees accused of some of the more serious crimes?

“I prefer to meet the person before I know what they might have done,” says Wendy.

“Because you can’t be influenced or biased in any way, and you’ve got to stay professional. You’ve got to stay unbiased.

“We don’t get involved with what the people have been brought in for. We’re just here to make sure that people are OK while they’re here.”

This is something that Cherie fully agrees with. While custody visitors do have the information regarding the nature of accusations against the detainee, she believes treating everyone equally is at the very core of the programme.

“It’s the same for me, yes,” she says.

“You just go in there and you’re here to see the situation, not to judge anyone.

“We don’t ask. It doesn’t matter what they’re in here for, we’re just here for their well-being.”

Following their visits, custody visitors report their findings to the Independent Custody Visiting Association, who in turn pass them on to the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

And Cherie thinks that having an independent group of volunteers reporting on the well-being of detainees encourages the police force to act on their concerns quickly.

“I think they’ve taken a lot of feedback from custody visitors over the years,” she said.

“Nine times out of ten if we raise something they’ll come back to us before we’ve finished the visit, so we can put that we’ve raised it and it’s been dealt with.

“And if we’re not happy we can ask to speak to the inspector on duty as well.”

Inspector John Stolz is the newly appointed custody manager for both Oldbury and Perry Barr, and has worked as a police officer for 29 years.

And he says that programmes like the custody visitors are vital for the police force, as it help them gain a perspective from outside the organisation.

“It’s so important,” he says about the service.

“Because we get real feedback on how we’re performing from members of the community. We think we’re doing the right thing. In our job, we wouldn’t be doing this job if we didn’t want to do the right thing.

“But it doesn’t mean you’ve got all the answers. And you think you’re doing the right thing, you think you’re following the procedures, you think you’re following Home Office guidelines. But sometimes we only experience it from our side.

“So it’s good to get feedback on what it’s like to be in a cell. And unless you’ve experienced it you don’t really know.

“For us it’s about real, genuine feedback from members of the community, so we can act upon it. That’s why I would say it’s a good thing.”

The volunteers are also highly valued by PCC David Jamieson, who last year led a campaign to encourage people to sign up.

“The custody visitors are ordinary members of the public doing an incredibly important job,” he said.

“It is vital these people are independent so the public can trust that their inspections are free from any interference. People who are being detained must be treated fairly and held securely.

“I’d like to place on record my thanks for all that these volunteers do for us.”