Met upgrades cell security to ensure safety of solicitors
Concerns raised by the Law Society about the safety of solicitors in police custody cells have led the Metropolitan police to implement changes.
Wimbledon firm Burnley-Jones Bate & Co raised the issue of the personal safety of solicitors conducting interviews with clients in locked custody rooms at Croydon police station. Chancery Lane took the matter up with the Met, which has now agreed to alter procedures for solicitors visiting clients in a number of police buildings in greater London.
A solicitor visiting a client in a consultation room in a police building is routinely locked in with the client. A Met spokeswoman stressed that detainees are ‘thoroughly risk-assessed’ before being left with a solicitor and each room has a glass wall to enable custody staff to view meetings. This allows solicitors to signal to custody staff if they wish to leave the room by using a buzzer. In addition, there is also an alarm system.
There have been no incidents where the safety of solicitors has been compromised, she said. However, after liaising with the Society, the Met has agreed to changes including linking existing alarm buttons in consultation rooms to a door-release system.
She added: ‘We recognise there may be an occasion where a detainee acts out of character and considered new procedures that are now being implemented to link the existing alarm system to a door release.’
The Met said that the problem affects new-build custody centres, including Croydon, Leyton, Barking, Heathrow and Wandsworth. Work has begun to install the new system. Custody suites scheduled for rebuilding will have the new system installed as standard.
Chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee Richard Atkinson said he is pleased that the Met responded positively to the representations made by the Law Society.
He said: ‘Clearly the original arrangements which saw a solicitor being locked in a consultation room were very worrying but the new provisions which have been put in place now mean that the solicitors’ safety is better protected.’
Comments
A square meal?
"detainees are ‘thoroughly risk-assessed’ before being left with a solicitor and each room has a glass wall to enable custody staff to view meetings."
A glass wall indeed. Yes very good as long at the lawyer is also the other side of the glass. Otherwise there is just too much temptation to have a just little bite with Counsel. Hmm I think your lawyers should be given a cattle prod before being let in with the likes of us.
I'm not sure if the Met
I'm not sure if the Met Spokeswoman has been to Barking if she thinks the custody officers are anywhere near the consultation rooms! The rooms look out onto an empty long sinister corridor with nobody about.
How long does it take to get
How long does it take to get your neck snapped? There are no glass walls in the custody suites ive been in. This problem is NOT confined to new custody centres. Been to Hornsey anyone?? And what about when we have to consult in the cells?
Making to changes to Custody
My local police station has been designed in such a way that detainees are taken out of the main cell area to consult/interview rooms (still behind a secondary secure door). To get there, it is necessary to leave custody through a secure door. We are also locked in with detainees. So, should anything happen, help would have to get through the secure door, then run through and unlock my door to help. Plenty of time for injuries to potentially be inflicted.
That is bad enough, but to make things worse, the consult rooms do not have glass walls to enable custody staff to see inside. So, should a problem arise, it is down to me to hit the panic button as I don't think shouting for help would be heard! Totally inadequate and potentially very dangerous.
This police station by the way is Blackburn's Greenbank HQ...
Memory lane....
When I was a trainee attending 100+ times in police stations in 1988-92, the consultations were always in a (locked) cell...(seems like today`s lot are soft !)....
I remember being shown into a locked cell with a comment of "he`s dangerous". (Fortunately I had met the detainee in question previously and he gave me no reason at all to believe him "dangerous").
I also remember several "delayed" unlocking of cells after consultations because the client was accused of sex offences and I strongly suspect that the more simple-minded coppers thought I implicitly somehow approved of such crimes by representing the suspect.
I just thought all this was an occupational hazard and got on with it.
police cells
This is a disgrace that has been allowed to continue for far too long. The police arm themselves with batons, gas, tasers, shields, body armour and guns to face criminals and then lock us in an unsupervised room armed wih a pad of paper. As if they give a damn about solicitors. For the record at hornsey ps noone can see you in the locked room where you must consult. The police have no interest in protecting solicitors so thank goodness someone else is. But hang on; how good is the law society's achievement? By the time someone's attacked you a door release is a little late. Why are we locked in at all if the consultation room is in a secure custody suute? Go back to square one law society and have the brains and guts to take the police on properly next time.
nice if the buzzers work!
Consultations in locked cells were par for the course when I was a trainee and in some police stations still happen now. Most memorable was being locked in a cell at Tottenham police station with a duty client who was perfectly pleasant throughout consultation but after 5 mins of buzzing when we were ready for interview decided it would be funny to say 'seems like the buzzer doesn't work, just think, I could have raped you by now!' I told him I'd stab him in the eye with my pen if he even thought about it and he quickly apologised, but scarily he was right. When the custody officer did finally come after I started hammering on the door he said, oh yeah, we turned that buzzer off - nice!
Like has been said, custody areas are secure, why solicitors are still locked in rooms, whether they be cells or special consultation rooms is beyond me.