What the average time taken to process an individual in police custody has been, from arrival at custody to completion of processing, in ea…

Table 1 shows the average combined police custody waiting and processing times from 2021-22 to 2025-26.Waiting time is the time spent from the point the person arrested and the arresting officers arrive at a custody centre, to the point police custody officers and staff began to process and in effect book the person into custody. Police Scotland always try to ensure that this time is as minimal as possible, however waiting times can be impacted by a range of operational matters, which include more than one person needing to be processed or booked in at similar times, custody staff responding to a medical emergency etc.Processing time is the time taken to book the person into custody. This involves the arrested person being searched and asked questions to allow for an assessment of vulnerability, including medical conditions, which is critical to ensure a safe environment for people in police custody.Table 1: Average Combined Waiting and Processing time in minutes, 2021-22 to 2025-26Financial YearAverage Waiting Time (minutes)Average Processing Time (minutes)Average Total Time taken to process from arrival at police custody to lodge in cell (minutes)2021-222017372022-232017372023-241917362024-251816342025-26191635Source: Police Scotland Management Information