Back in December, I wrote a post about how you go about booking your offender into the custody suite and since then I’ve talked about interviewing them.
What those posts probably don’t get across is what it’s really like inside a custody suite, so for that, I’ve found you a YouTube video from Greater Manchester police to watch. It’s only short, but it’s worth watching if you’re interested in seeing the inside of a suite.
To add extra depth to this, see the big door locks, they are quite hefty to move, when locking and unlocking. That white handle controls a large internal bolting system and it does its job well. You feel the solid strength of the fitting when you’re using it.
Here’s another video from Essex. It’s a refurbed suite and is a bit different. Not many cells have the tiled cells – not yet anyway. Most look like the above video. I know this because in my role we occasionally travelled into different forces to interview offenders. The reason I’m showing this interview is the CCTV system. The cells are monitored. But the small toilet in the corner is pixellated out, which you can see if you look quickly at the big bank of screens.
Between these two videos, you get a real feel for what it’s like in a working UK custody suite. I hope you enjoyed your tour!
Rebecca Bradley is a retired police detective who now writes the DI Hannah Robbins crime novels set in Nottingham, UK.
Marina Sofia says
Wow, that looks surprisingly modern and neat. I guess all those custody suites we see on TV are deliberately shabby and ‘picturesque’.
Rebecca Bradley says
They’re not all tiled, but they’re not all shabby either. Probably somewhere in between.
Rebecca Bradley says
They’re not all tiled, but they’re not all shabby either. Probably somewhere in between.
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
The cells are really clean – that’s impressive.
Margot Kinberg says
What a powerful way to portray what the custody suite is really like, Rebecca. It’s often not portrayed accurately, I think, and that takes away from the atmosphere of the real thing. Thanks for sharing this.
Claire says
Really interesting as always