Independent Custody Visiting Association
Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA)
The Independent Custody Visiting Association (“ICVA”) is a Home Office, Policing Authority and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) funded membership organisation set up to lead, support and represent PCC and Policing Authority led schemes. Local volunteers make unannounced visits to police custody to check on the rights, entitlements, wellbeing and dignity of detainees held in police custody, reporting to PCCs and Policing Authorities who hold Chief Constables to account.
ICVA Quality Assurance Framework
The inaugural Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) Quality Assurance Awards was first run by ICVA with schemes in 2019 and is a framework for the locally run schemes to help them to:
- Reflect on how they comply with the Code of Practice, the legislation that underpins custody visiting.
- Celebrate areas of strength.
- Promote custody visiting and the achievements they have made.
- Drive up performance of schemes.
- Increase sharing of good practice and resources across schemes.
There are four graded levels of this award:
- Code Compliant – Schemes meet the statutory requirements of the Code of Practice.
- Silver – Schemes have a good standard of custody visiting.
- Gold – Schemes have an excellent standard of custody visiting.
- Platinum – Schemes have an outstanding standard of custody visiting.
The Dyfed Powys ICV scheme is proud to have upheld their Gold award for 2023-2026.
Use of anti-rip clothing in police custody
In 2022 the OPCC along side Dyfed Powys Police and ICVA undertook a thematic review of the use of anti-rip clothing in police custody having noted the frequency with which it was reported as an area of improvement or a cause for concern in inspectorate reports.
The pilot found that enhanced scrutiny of the use of anti-rip clothing had a positive impact on recording the proportionality and justification for its use. There were also improved reviews of its use, so that detainees were given standard custody clothing, or their own clothes as risk reduced. In December 2022, ICVA produced an interim
evaluation of the project, examining the implementation process and its results,
and making a series of recommendations: Anti-rip suit interim evaluation report
A further report was then created outlining the recommendations for Force's and the Home Office was produced in July 2024: Anti Rip Update Report 2024