A CUSTODY Suite is not planned for Downpatrick’s new state-of-the-art police station — but it’s not too late to include one.
That is the belief of councillor Cadogan Enright, who this week viewed plans for the £10m PSNI station — until now closely guarded by the Planning Service for security reasons.
Councillor Enright said he had already been personally informed by a senior police officer that there were no plans for a custody suite in Downpatrick. And upon viewing the plans this week at Rathkeltair House, he confirmed there was no such facility marked.
He said, however, that there was “more than enough room” on the Downshire Estate and an area within the building itself where one could clearly be accommodated.
Last week the PSNI’s ability to cope with public disorder in the district without a local custody suite was questioned after a serious disturbance followed the Christmas lights switch on in Downpatrick.
Since a trial started two years ago there are no longer holding cells available in any local police station, meaning offenders have to be taken to either Bangor or Banbridge by officers who can be out of the district for several hours.
Last week it was claimed that people could not be arrested at the Christmas lights disturbance because the police did not have enough resources to transport people to Bangor.
Criticising delays which followed previous requests to view the plans over the past three months, councillor Enright said planners seemed nervous of breaching police protocol.
“I was highly concerned that nobody could see anything,” he said, calling for the PSNI to reverse its decision on the custody suite.
Describing the policy of transporting offenders and officers so far outside the district as “insane”, he said several local officers had shared their concerns with him.
“From an operational viewpoint having holding facilities in Bangor or Belfast will undermine policing in Down District as every young thug will know that during a busy period the local police have no prospect of being able to lift them — and thus much of the deterrence factor will be gone from local policing,” he said.
Councillor Enright said police also had responsibility as a public authority under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland act to display an even-handed approach to all residents of C District, which incorporates, Down, North Down, Ards and Castlereagh.
“Police headquarters would never consider releasing people from predominantly unionist North Down at 3am in Downpatrick or Newry — so from a section 75 point of view it is difficult to see why they would feel that decanting a potentially innocent nationalist young person from, say, Ardglass outside a holding centre in Bangor was acceptable.”
Councillor Enright went to to say that the plans clearly indicated an access road for Translink into the Downshire Estate could be accommodated from the Ballyhornan Road.
Although this would pass near to the police station, councillor Enright called on the PSNI to fully engage with the Planning Service on this issue.
“Not everyone has car or taxi and it is vital the site should be accessible for bus users and pedestrians,” he said.