Noun

(wikipedia custody) (-)

The legal right to take care of something or somebody, especially children.

The court awarded custody to the child's father.

Temporary possession or care of somebody else's property.

I couldn't pay the bill and now my passport is in custody of the hotel management.

The state of being imprisoned or detained, usually pending a trial.

He was mistreated while in police custody .

Noun

(en noun)

Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.

Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.

(military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-12-14

, author=Simon Jenkins, authorlink=Simon Jenkins , title=We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys , volume=188, issue=2, page=23 , date=2012-12-21 , magazine= citation , passage=The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance , intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty.}}

(legal) In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.