Use of force doesn’t look nice. It’s the actions of one or some human being(s) to physically restrain another to a point of compliance. It can look like a fight. It can sound like a fight. It’s often noisy and is moving at a fast pace. Some of the people in the situation that can look and sound like a fight are wearing uniforms. There is no escaping that it the public will have an opinion on use of force and in the days where policing is often videoed by passers-by, footage of use of force is ever more available […]

ICVA WELCOMES INCREASED DIGNITY FOR FEMALE DETAINEES 12:00 Tuesday 21 August 2018   The Independent Custody Visiting Association welcomes proposed ground breaking reforms to legislation that will require police forces to respect the dignity of female detainees and deliver appropriate care to menstruating detainees.   This is ICVAs full press release on those changes and how to get in touch.2018.08.21 Menstruation ICVA Press Release

Further back than I dare to really admit, I studied Russian politics where we learned about glasnost or, more simply, being open and transparent about public life. We need to be able to understand and discuss what public bodies and services do for those same bodies to secure public confidence and support. One of the aims of independent custody visiting is to bring a hidden area of policing into public view.  It makes sense ICVA reflects on our work to ensure that we are transparent too. We have been thinking about how we do this lately, it’s been part of […]

I am developing training for ICV schemes about how to hold the police to account.  This sounds grand and the language can rub people up the wrong way, but it’s what we are here to do.  But, it’s not all scrutiny committees; holding the police to account are often the stories that bring tears to my eyes. It’s Friday afternoon, I am in a generous mood and I have been moved by the kindness and determination of my colleagues this week so I want to share with you.  I want to show you how ‘holding the police to account’ can […]

ICVA Annual Report 17.18 Please see here for the Independent Custody Visiting Associations Annual Report 2017/8.