Devon and Cornwall custody visiting scheme wins national award

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has been presented with a Silver Quality Assurance Award by the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA).

The award recognises the work of the OPCC's Independent Custody Visiting (ICV) scheme, which sees trained volunteers make unannounced visits to police custody suites to check detainees are being treated fairly and that their rights, wellbeing and dignity are being protected.

Devon and Cornwall currently has 24 volunteer Independent Custody Visitors, who are recruited by the OPCC.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, the volunteers carried out 128 unannounced visits to custody suites in Exeter, Torquay, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Newquay and Camborne.

Most inspections resulted in positive reports, with detainees often telling visitors they had been treated well by custody staff.

However, volunteers also highlighted issues including broken CCTV equipment, occasional gaps in healthcare provision and staff shortages. The OPCC said problems identified during visits, such as faulty CCTV, have since been addressed.

No significant concerns have been raised during visits carried out so far this year.

The Independent Custody Visiting Association introduced its quality assurance awards to recognise schemes that demonstrate high standards of custody visiting and volunteer management while ensuring compliance with the national code of practice.

The Devon and Cornwall scheme received its Silver Award at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, July 8.

Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: "I am extremely pleased to hear that my office's ICV scheme has received a Silver Quality Assurance Award from ICVA.

"It is my statutory responsibility to run an ICV scheme and I am grateful for my office in providing a good standard of volunteer management and custody visiting to ensure that detainees' rights and entitlements are upheld.

"Custody is a challenging environment that police officers and detention officers work within, whether dealing with people who are unwell through substance misuse, violence or are scared.

"So this is also a recognition that these officers and staff work well with my scheme and welcome short-notice scrutiny of their efforts.

"I would also like to thank our volunteer ICVs because without their dedication to the scheme, it would not have been possible for my office to achieve this award."

ICVA Chief Executive Sherry Ralph congratulated the scheme on its achievement.

She said: "I congratulate schemes on their accomplishments and thank them for their continued dedication and commitment."

The ICVA Quality Assurance Awards recognise custody visiting schemes across England and Wales, with Silver awarded to schemes that provide a good standard of custody visiting and volunteer management. Gold and Platinum awards recognise increasingly higher levels of performance.