detainees could spend time together during designated times, but the room was essentially a concrete space fitted with concrete tables and chairs, and an open (but screened) toilet. Four cells were designated for self-harming detainees. These cells were on camera, and were painted in light pink. The women’s shower in the custody suite had stable doors which were inappropriate as they afforded no privacy, especially considering that they were located inside the custody suite. People identified as very vulnerable will be placed on constant watch with someone sitting outside their cell all the time. One officer explained that: “We try to get someone from a company [that does constant watches] but if it’s an emergency it will be one of us, in which case we will sit outside the cell but as we are not mental health trained we will not engage”. The policy of not engaging with detainees on constant watch needed to be reconsidered. The custody suite in Manukau was much newer and in a better state of repair than the Wellington custody suite. A joint project with local artists resulted in nine out of the 41 cells in the custody suite being painted using original, colourful designs. The custody suite also contained five ‘high risk’ cells for detainees deemed to be at high risk of self-harm which only contained a concrete slab with a mattress and, two of which were ‘dry cells’ containing nothing at all. Lack of privacy Detainees could be strip searched provided the appropriate authorisation was obtained. Strip searches took part in a special holding areas which were more private than the cells – but were still covered by CCTV. Use of instruments of restraint and poor record keeping No records were kept of when and why high risk custody cells were used, and the start and end time of the application of restraints (which were recorded) were not prominently displayed in the paperwork. Both of the custody suites visited had a restraint chair at their disposal, and used it not infrequently (see section on prevalence). Incidents involving the use of the restraint chair were recorded on the Tactical Options Reporting Restraint chair 41