Recommendation - Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary, July 2025
We identified organisational learning following an IOPC review of a local death and serious injury investigation into a person who arrived in custody intoxicated, and who subsequently suffered a seizure while in a cell.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Norfolk Constabulary should amend their custody policy, and any associated guidance or training, to include a section on individuals who come into custody, who may have consumed alcohol and may need to be referred to a healthcare professional.
The policy should align with the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on Detention and Custody, specifically the section on alcohol and drugs.
This follows an IOPC review of a local death and serious injury investigation report into a person who arrived in custody intoxicated who subsequently suffered a seizure while in a cell.
The hospital assessment was that the seizure was due to alcohol withdrawal. The force’s existing custody policy does not refer to any circumstances where a person comes into custody, who has consumed alcohol, and may need to be referred to a healthcare professional. The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice does cover these types of scenarios and states that the person should have been seen by a healthcare professional due to the readings of the evidential breath test.
The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on alcohol and drugs provides a list of situations when officers must always consult a health care professional which includes: ‘a person detained for an evidential breath test registers more than 150 micrograms of alcohol’.
It appears that the force’s current policy on when a detainee should receive appropriate clinical attention are not altogether reflective of the requirement as stated in the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice. It would seem sensible to align the force’s policy with the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on alcohol and drugs page to remove any ambiguity, and it would make it easier for all concerned to understand their responsibilities and obligations when dealing with intoxicated detainees.
Accepted