Inspectors condemn forces's police cells

Virtually every police cell in the West Midlands force failed safety tests, inspectors said today.

Many of the older cells contained ligature points which detainees could use to harm themselves, a joint report by prison and force inspectors found.

And one custody suite in central Birmingham was "inherently unsafe", with restrictions imposed on the number of improvements that could be made due to its Grade II listed status.

"Virtually every cell surveyed across the estate failed to pass our safety examination — there were numerous ligature points and health and safety monitoring was inconsistent," the report said.

Despite substantial investment, the 51 cells at Steelhouse Lane were poor, with restrictions imposed by English Heritage preventing authorities from replacing cell doors.

"This custody suite was inherently unsafe due to the age of its fabric, and staff were not trained or equipped to identify the full range of ligature points that we found," inspectors said.

"There had been a substantial investment in resources across the custody estate, particularly at Steelhouse Lane in central Birmingham, although this was still a poor facility."

Inspectors also criticised a wall board with information about the detainees, including their names, alleged offences and required referrals to health services, which was "visible to all detainees being booked in and anyone else passing through the booking-in area".

Elsewhere across the West Midlands, many custody suites contained clinical and forensic equipment that was out of date, the report, based on inspections carried out in October, said.

West Midlands Police said inspectors "expect very high standards of safety in all cells and do not differentiate between old and new cells in terms of building design and safety standards".

Acting Chief Insp Tracey Packham, who is in charge of community justice and custody, said the force "welcomes the report and has already addressed many of the areas concerned around ligature points in cells".