Here, we examine the factors influencing whether those detained by the police feel treated with dignity. We develop a human rights-oriented conception of dignity rooted in the equal worth of human beings, encapsulated in detainees’ desire to be ‘treated like a human being’. The predictors of this are examined using multilevel modelling of survey data collected from 371 detainees in 27 custody facilities in 13 police forces in England and Wales in an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study of ‘good’ police custody. We found that perceptions of the material conditions predicted feelings of dignity, as did detainees’ reactions to being detained, their perceptions of the culture of police custody and the mechanisms used to hold the police to account. Feelings of dignity were also less likely for younger adults and for Black Asian and Minority Ethnic detainees, with these experiences being mediated by less trust in accountability mechanisms. This paper concludes by examining the implications for ‘good’ police custody.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine how police authorityin its "soft" formis used and understood by staff and detainees in police custody in England, examining how these meanings are shaped by this unique police setting. It is argued that the nature of this setting, as fraught and uncertain, along with the large volume of citizens who come into contact with the police therein, makes police custody the ultimate "teachable moment". Design/methodology/approach-The present paper is based on in-depth qualitative data collected between March 2014 and May 2015 in four custody suites (in four forces). In each site, the researchers spent three to four weeks observing and then interviewed 10-15 staff (largely police officers, detention officers but also a few other criminal justice practitioners) and 10-15 detainees. In total, the paper is based on 532 hours of observing and 97 interviews (47 with staff and 50 with detainees). Findings-One way that the staff used their authority in the custody suites in the research was softly and innocuously; this entailed for example staff communicating in a respectful manner with detainees, such as by being deliberately polite. The authors conclude that this "soft" power was a dynamic, processual matter, shaped in particular by the physical conditions of the suite, the uncertain and insecure nature of detainees' circumstances, as well as by the sense of disempowerment they felt as a result of being deprived of their liberty and autonomy, all of which contributed to police custody being the ultimate "teachable moment". Originality/value-The paper draws on a range of qualitative data collected from both staff and detainees in four types of police custody suites as part the "good" police custody study. It therefore makes an original contribution to the field which has tended to rely on cross-sectional surveys of citizens not policed populations (Harkin, 2015; Worden and Mclean, 2017).

Fuelled by the declining numbers of warranted detectives and growing demand for non-traditional skill-sets within the police in England and Wales, non-warranted Civilian Investigators (CIs) were introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002 to enhance the police's investigative capacity. In the absence of existing research on CIs, this paper uses the junior partner thesis as an analytical lens through which to examine the nature of the CI role relative to that of warranted detectives. Findings point to an evolving 'equal partner' role for CIs, resulting in an expansive occupational remit which belies their place in the formal police organisational hierarchy as the complementary 'junior partners' of detectives. The article concludes by arguing for better accommodation of the CI role/remit within the police organisational infrastructure. Developing effective training and progression opportunities for CIs are essential if the police are to retain both their specialist skills-sets and the organisational memory they represent.

In this article, we examine detainee experiences of dignity in police detention through the lens of materiality. To do this, we draw on sociological and anthropological literature on the ‘material turn’ and its application to criminal justice settings, and a mixed-methods study of police custody in England and Wales. First, we conceptualise different dimensions of materiality in police custody. Second, we show how some forms of materiality, in conjunction with staff–detainee relationships, shape detainee dignity rooted in equal worth, privacy and autonomy. Third, we examine how the intertwining of the social and material in police custody opens up new possibilities for theorising police work. The materiality of police work is active, not just symbolic. Alongside social relations, it shapes citizen experiences of the police, including of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ forms of policing, and by implication, pain and injustice. Materiality therefore provides a further way of theorising the production of social order inside and outside police detention.

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