custody

Four arrested after report of gunfire

Four men are in police custody on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent in Plymouth.

Police received a number of reports in the early hours of this morning (Monday 1 August) of what was thought to be gunfire in the Plympton area of Plymouth.

Police also received calls from the public claiming that youths were letting off firecrackers in the area.

Police and the...

Number of mentally ill people in police custody falls

Police in Devon and Cornwall have welcomed a new report from the National Police Chief’s Council showing a nationwide reduction in the use of police custody cells as a place of safety for those suffering mental illness.

Historically, police cells have been used to house those people detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. The Government announced earlier this year...

Millions spent on 'needless' remand

Courts wasted an estimated £230 million of taxpayers’ money last year by needlessly locking up people on remand, figures published by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today (18 August 2014).

During 2013, more than 35,000 people who had been remanded in custody went on to be either acquitted or given non-custodial sentences.

The money spent on keeping them in prison...