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Prisoners asked to make ‘Tripadvisor-style’ ratings of stays in Scottish police cells

Officers bemused and ‘beyond embarrassed’ by custody user experience survey, which will be sent out by text message

Prisoners who stay the night in Scottish police cells have been asked to rate their stay, under a “bizarre” new scheme bemused officers have likened to a Tripadvisor review.
The “custody user experience survey” will be sent out by text message to those who have been in police custody.
Officers have been informed about the scheme on the Police Scotland intranet, but it has triggered a backlash from staff and politicians.
The intranet post, disclosed by the Daily Record, said: “There is soon to be a custody user experience survey sent out by text message to persons who have been within the custody environment.
“Therefore, it is incumbent that staff record mobile telephone numbers from persons brought into our care.”
But the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said that the scheme was “all rather bizarre”.
David Kennedy, the federation’s general secretary, told BBC Scotland News: “If you’ve spent the night in a police cell you’re not exactly going to say: ‘Thanks very much, I enjoyed my stay.’
“I have heard that some officers have likened it to a Tripadvisor review. Prisoners have human rights, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out how comfortable it is or how bad the food is.”
He warned that prisoners could exploit the survey to complain about their arrest and what happened to them, which could end up wasting police time.
“People have a right to complain, but the way they are going about this just seems very strange,” he added.
An unnamed officer told the Daily Record that he was “beyond embarrassed”, adding: “We’re not listed on Booking.com or Tripadvisor, we’re a police force trying to do our jobs the best we can.
“On top of everything else, now we have to worry about whether folk thought the beds were comfy and enjoyed the sandwiches.”
Sharon Dowey, the Scottish Tories’ deputy justice spokesman, warned that “overstretched officers have better things to do with their time than conduct customer-satisfaction surveys on behalf of suspected criminals.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Our user experience survey will give us a better understanding of why individuals are in custody, any additional support or referrals required and will build a picture of the experience of custody across Scotland. This will help us to reduce re-offending and harm in our communities.
“Custody is not a punishment, and we have an ethical duty to ensure the welfare of thousands of individuals in our care, many of whom are already vulnerable and have complex welfare and healthcare needs.
“We continue to engage with partner organisations and will launch the survey later this year.”

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