FOREWORD

I am delighted to present our Annual Report for Independent Custody Visiting Scotland (ICVS).

The report covers the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and provides a summary of the work undertaken by and the achievements of the ICVS team and the Independent Custody Visitors (ICVs).
The management of the scheme is a statutory function for the Scottish Police Authority (‘the Authority’) and is in place to help raise public awareness of the rights, entitlements, care, welfare and dignity of persons held in police custody. The scheme also provides oversight on the facilities in which people are held and helps identify the needs and concerns of custody staff and officers to enable them to provide the right care and welfare.

ICVs continue to report on the good work of custody staff and officers and where custody centres are well run. However, there is still work required to ensure the police custody services can adapt to meet the needs of people in custody.

The Police Scotland custody estate remains an area of focus, with a considerable amount of ongoing work to reduce the number of persons brought into custody. The Authority fully supports the prioritisation of improving the custody estate and initiatives to reduce the number of people brought into police custody where proportionate.

We are grateful to all ICVs for their continued support and willingness to cover custody centres throughout Scotland. This ensures that the Authority is fulfilling its statutory obligation and that every custody centre in Scotland is being visited. The ongoing feedback from ICVs and their detailed reports is invaluable in helping to make improvements to custody provision.

The annual report highlights some fantastic achievements and recognises the dedication in driving improvement of custody provision in Scotland.

I would like to thank ICVs for their contribution, support and commitment to assuring the care and welfare of those in Police Scotland custody.

Fiona McQueen CBE
Chair, Scottish Police Authority