Suite news for police work as multi-million pound custody block opens
A new state-of-the-art custody suite costing millions of pounds has been officially launched by West Midlands Police.
Police bosses celebrated the launch of the facility in Oldbury which has now become fully operational.
It has been lauded as a huge step-up for custody policing in the area and will greatly improve the efficiency of dealing with criminal suspects.
The suite contains 60 cells, complete with interview rooms and state-of-the-art technology, and custody hub at the centre of the building.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson said: "I am really pleased to have been able to open this facility.
"We have been trying to conduct modern policing in what are essentially out-dated blocks with limited space.
"On many occasions we end up in a bottleneck situation with not enough space to cater for demand.
"Now we have a purpose-built facility in which we will never need to hold up processing.
Be our guest - new police custody suite opensA new 60-bed facility, unlikely to feature in any most wanted place to stay list, has opened in Oldbury today (Tuesday 22 March), complete with en-suite rooms, especially for guests of West Midlands Police.The new facility is a dedicated custody suite and does not have a police station attached.The building is three years in the making, from planning approval through to a finished product, and has been officially opened this morning by Chief Constable Dave Thompson and Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson.The suite, which is close to Sandwell and Dudley railway station, has been built on 3.4 acres.The cells have cameras, anti-graffiti surfaces, reflective ceiling domes so occupants can be seen at all times plus low beds to prevent falls. The building has been designed to prevent harm and keep people safe whilst in police custody.Oldbury custody suite also has four accessible cells for disabled occupants and six windowed cells for high-risk detainees, who previously had to be monitored by officers sitting in the open doorway of their cell.The corridors are much wider, providing a safer environment for staff and detainees when restraint is necessary.The central hub has six desks, six times as many as was standard and a control desk from which all areas of the suite can be monitored using cameras, intercoms and alarm panels on every wall.The new facility provides much greater flexibility in meeting demand that should speed up the booking in process allowing officers to return to their local front-line policing duties much faster after taking a detainee to custody.It also offers greater opportunities to work with partners in health creating pathways intended to deal with those suffering mental illness or addicted to drugs or alcohol.The modernising custody project is part of the forces WMP2020 organisational change programme.Read the full story here: http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/news.aspx?id=4337
Posted by West Midlands Police on Tuesday, 22 March 2016
"The standard of this suite is absolutely fantastic and it will allow us to run a much more efficient service.
"The speed with which we can deal with detainees will increase, meaning officers can spend more time on the streets.
"However fantastic the suite is though it's not a great place to spend time in and as well as a place to question and investigate offenders we now have the space to work with those in our care to try to prevent the cycle of offending."
The custody suite has been three years in the planning and took two years to build.
It features two floors, the ground being where the 60 cells are housed, spread across five wings, and also interview rooms.
The top floor features office space with computers where police officers from different stations can carry out work.
The suite opened on March 8 and since then around 400 suspects have come through its doors as part of a soft opening.
The facility is the force's first dedicated police custody suite and does not feature a police station.
Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: "This is an important investment for policing in the West Midlands and will bring our custody facilities up to date.
"This is state-of-the-art complex which will ensure West Midlands Police is at the forefront of fighting and preventing crime and keeping people in our communities safe."
The firm behind the build, Willmott Dixon, faced fines over delays to the project but police bosses added it has now been 'fully dealt with.'
