There are 20 volunteers who form the West Panel of Independent Custody Visitors, who all come from the Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea areas.
The West Panel covers five police station custody suites:
- Bridgend
- Neath
- Swansea Central
- Cockett
- Port Talbot
Bridgend and Neath stations are visited on average once each week. Swansea Central, as the largest suite in the area, is visited three times within a fortnight. Cockett and Port Talbot are ‘non-designated’ stations, which means they are only used on rare occasions. These are visited once each fortnight.
The visitors are supported by a Police Authority Member – Arjan Ali – who is the Chair of the Panel, and Sue Poole, who is the Panel Co-Ordinator.
Volunteers
We are lucky to have a very low number of volunteers leave the scheme. Many of the visitors have been involved for a number of years. Below shows how long visitors have been involved with the scheme:
0 – 3 years – 5
3 – 6 years – 3
6 – 9 years – 6
9 – 12 year s- 4
Over 12 years - 2
As a Police Authority, we are grateful to all our dedicated volunteers who are part of this scheme.
Visit Record
Between April 2008 and March 2009, the visitors completed 200 visits in the West Panel, with a breakdown as follows:
Bridgend - 47
Neath - 45
Swansea Central - 76
Cockett - 9
Port Talbot - 23
The visitors saw a total of 374 detainees, including 352 adults and 33 juveniles.
Visitor Profiles
Lynne Price
Lynne Price joined the scheme in September 2005. She is a Support Worker with Clybiau Plant Cymru, and is also a volunteer for the Authority’s Animal Welfare Visiting Scheme.
“I became a visitors when I was working part time and had spare time. I heard about the scheme through a fellow visitor, and was interested in the scheme.
“I have found that few people in the public know about the scheme, but when you explain what you do they all agree what a good thing it is. I enjoy meeting the different visitors and experiencing different views.”
Derek George
Derek George began with the scheme in July 1999. In addition to being a Custody Visitor, Derek is also a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of Parc Prison and Young Offenders Institute, along with being an Animal Welfare Visitor with the Police Authority. He is a farmer and retired surveyor.
“I became a visitor because I was interested in the working of the police custodial system, and the desire to help in some way the detainees held in custody.
“It is a helpful scheme because it allows trained, independent people to have access to the custody suite.”
Panel Profile
The document below gives a profile of the custody visitors, based on gender, ethnicity, disability and language ability.