An independent custody visitor is someone who visits people who are detained in police stations in the United Kingdom to ensure that they are being treated properly.
Initially, the provision of custody visiting was voluntary on the part of the Police Authorities, but it was placed on a statutory basis in 2002.
[2] The Act is supplemented by a code of practice[clarification needed] made by the Home Secretary which sets out in more detail how custody visiting should work.
[8] The visitors ask the detained person whether they have been informed of their rights under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act codes of practice (for example, to speak to a solicitor or to make a telephone call) and whether they are being treated properly.
[14] Independent custody visiting, through the ICVA, has been nominated by the United Kingdom Government as one of the means by which the UK fulfills its responsibilities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.