DEPUTY Chief Constable John Feavyour has issued a statement in response to a report on the force's custody facilities.

The HMIP (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons) and HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) report was published today (August 4).

The inspection was carried out in November 2008 and gives a view of how things were nine months ago.

It singles out several incidents for criticism including officers laughing at a prisoner banging his head on a cell door, a failure to remove a swastika symbol that had been scratched on the wall of a cell, and a failure to store forensic evidence properly in fridges and freezers - a DNA sample was found next to a takeaway meal.

Mr Feavyour said: "We put an extremely high value on inspection, feedback, openness and accountability. Findings by Her Majesty's Inspectors are never taken lightly, and in this case the inspection system has undoubtedly helped us further to improve our cell facilities, procedures and custody management. Similar findings in this programme of inspection are prompting improvements across the police service in England.

"Any civilised society is right to expect us to balance the resources we use to fight crime and keep people safe, with appropriate standards of provision and care for those in custody. Most of the recommendations in this document we have accepted, and many we have already implemented in full.

"The people of Cambridgeshire can be reassured that this report gives a view of how some things were nine months ago, and not how they are today. Furthermore, at the time of inspection, this force was already committed, and was actively delivering, a rigorous programme of improvement.

"Facilities are already undergoing, or are scheduled to undergo, extensive modernisation. This work is centrally managed, and is fully supported and funded by Cambridgeshire Police Authority.

"Cambridgeshire Constabulary has a mixed estate, and a number of its police stations were built when physical needs and attitudes to cell provision were very different. Last year Cambridgeshire Police Authority approved £1.3m of spending on force wide upgrades and repairs, and on new cells at March. The authority is also building, jointly with Norfolk Police Authority, a shared custody facility in King's Lynn, which will serve Fenland.

"Responding to comments published by the inspectors about safety and cleanliness, Cambridgeshire Constabulary stressed that ligature points identified in police cells had been removed, and the force is also satisfied that all relevant staff carry ligature knives. The cleanliness of cells has also been improved and more thorough systems introduced.

"Observations about cells without natural light have been noted by the Constabulary. The majority of such cells are at Parkside Police Station in Cambridge. Cambridgeshire Police Authority is to provide new divisional headquarters which will incorporate a brand new cell block. In the meantime cells without natural light are used only when all other available accommodation is occupied. The lighting in these cells has already been upgraded, and people held here are limited wherever possible to those thought likely to be detained for the shortest period of time.

"The inspectors report states that trained custody staff were not routinely used in all suites. This is not the case. Untrained staff have supported rather than replaced fully trained members of custody teams. Nonetheless, the force has reinforced as mandatory the need for a trained member of staff to be ever present in custody.

"The Constabulary has apologised without reservation for its failure promptly to remove swastika graffiti in one cell within one part of the estate. This was an isolated and wholly untypical, but nonetheless serious error, for which we are extremely sorry.

"In addition, general criticisms of disrespectful or uncaring attitudes amongst custody staff have caused great distress to the force. Cambridgeshire Constabulary is confident that any alleged behaviour is unrepresentative and untypical of its 1400 police officers. It conflicts with strongly embedded force values which encourage colleagues to act with sensitivity, integrity and respect.

"Finally, the Constabulary can, with confidence, give total reassurance to the public that its custody protocols in relation to people and the handling of evidence have never undermined criminal justice processes or integrity.

"Forensic samples in fridges, to which inspectors referred, were in the vast majority of cases from people who had been eliminated from criminal enquiries and were of no further value. There was no requirement to subject them to further analysis or put them on the DNA database. They were redundant."