Neil Budziszewski
23 Mar 2015 · Coroner Peter Dorries · South Yorkshire (West)
The coroner's concerns
1. detainee not assessed for risk
“When Mr [name redacted] was first presented to the Ecclesfield afternoon shift custody sergeant he accepted custody without opening a custody record or completing a risk assessment”
2. procedural breach in transfer documentation
“The afternoon custody sergeant failed to complete a Prison Escort Form for a transfer to Bridge Street (for LiveScan identification) in breach of guidance”
3. incomplete medical risk assessment
“The risk assessment completion at Bridge Street did not include asking Mr [name redacted] if he wanted to see a doctor, if he was on medication or if he was in contact with a medical service”
4. risk assessment not revisited
“The custody sergeant at Bridge Street gave evidence that he was unable to conduct a full risk assessment because of Mr [name redacted] 's lack of compliance”
5. failure to implement required monitoring
“The afternoon custody sergeant failed to complete a Prison Escort Form for a transfer to Bridge Street (for LiveScan identification) in breach of guidance.”
6. lack of medical referral documentation
“The afternoon custody sergeant recognised guidance that a doctor would normally be asked to attend for an alcoholic detainee, but failed to record on the custody record or risk assessment that Mr [name redacted] should be considered for an assessment later on”
Responses
2015-0109-Response-by-South-Yorkshire-Police.pdf ↗· South Yorkshire Police
Stated action · end of May 2015
“assessment. It is a basic requirement that anyone entering a custody suite should be assigned a custody record and a risk assessment should be completed. This should be done even where the detainee is un-cooperative. This is something which is covered by PACE Code C which is covered in the training provided to custody officers. Having spoken to a sample of custody sergeants during April 2015 an uncooperative detainee under the influence of alcohol is a regular occurrence in custody and a custody record”