PSNI officers facing long delays with prisoners

PSNI officers facing long delays with prisoners

26 October 2016

POLICE officers will face longer absences from east Down because of the closure of more custody suites, it has been claimed.

The PSNI has announced the Bangor custody suite is to close and people arrested in the greater Downpatrick area will be taken to the Musgrave custody suite in Belfast. People arrested in the greater Newcastle area will be taken either to Musgrave or to custody suites in Banbridge or Lurgan.

There are no custody suites in east Down despite a political clamour for the inclusion of one in the recently opened PSNI base in Downpatrick.

The PSNI decision to rationalise custody suites across the Province in a £1m cost-cutting exercise, has attracted cross-party opposition in east Down.

With fewer custody suites it is being argued the officers who make arrests will have to wait significantly longer to process their prisoners, robbing their areas of valuable officers.

Announcing the decision to close Bangor custody suite, assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said such facilities have to be “fit for purpose.”

“Many of our detainees’ needs are increasingly complex reflecting higher levels of addictions, mental health concerns, incidences of self-harm and suicidal ideation,” he said.

“By 2019, the four custody closures announced today will save approximately £1m in estate maintenance works that would have been required.”

Back in February last year there was widespread political concern after it was announced there would no longer be any PSNI custody suites in the entire Newry, Mourne and Down area — dashing hopes of Downpatrick’s custody suite being reinstated with its new station.

Councillor Cadogan Enright was one of those who expressed concerns at the time. He said those concerns over the lack of a local custody suite continued.

“I have spoken to almost every single police officer and I do not know a single person below inspector that wants this,” he claimed.

Councillor Enright said the system brought officers out of the area for too long a period and made some arrests locally impractical.

“Every single political party asked the PSNI to have a custody suite in Downpatrick and they refused to do it.”

Councillor Willie Clarke said he was “frustrated by the continual changes” in local policing. He said it was unclear if detainees in the Newcastle area would be taken to Belfast, pointing out that the closest suite was in Banbridge. He reiterated his view, however, that a custody suite should have been installed at the new Downpatrick station.

“No matter how quick the turnaround is, it is still officers out of our area for at least two hours,” he said.

Councillor Clarke said he would be tabling the issue for discussion at the next policing committee meeting of the Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP).

Strangford MP Jim Shannon said he had met Chief Superintendent Brian Kee in Bangor police station for a “frank and forthright” meeting.

“I had been made aware that £150,000 had been spent on refurbishing the custody suite in Bangor only last year and I was clear that it was unacceptable for this massive expenditure to be going to waste in the name of efficiency saving,” he said.

“Chief Superintendent Kee acknowledged that, yes, this money had been spent and that the suite would still be available if Musgrave suite was full. 

“The journey takes two officers however long it takes to drive to Musgrave and process the suspect and drive home – this is a long time for two officers to be out of the Borough at a time when staffing is not at a high level and financial pressures have seen pared down teams on duty.”

South Down MP Margaret Ritchie said: “I think there needs to be a new opportunity to have a custody suite in Downpatrick.

“It is a considerable distance, whether it’s Bangor or Belfast, for the detainees as well as for officers.”