Worries over closure of police cells
READERS HAVE THEIR SAY ON SHUTTING CUSTODY SUITE
READERS have raised concerns about plans to close Burton police’s custody cells, with one claiming that the news “does not give us much of a sense of security and wellbeing”.
Staffordshire Police announced the closure of the 17-cell custody suite, based at Burton Police Station, where prisoners are held, just days after it was revealed the use of the cells was under review because they required “significant investment”.
Police said prisoners would be transferred to Cannock or Stoke – which are both around 40 minutes away from Burton. Police have already said that money saved on not revamping the cells would instead be invested in frontline policing.
Writing on Facebook, Bez Beresford said: “I understand that resources are tight, but to all the law-abiding public, it does not give us much of a sense of security and well being!”
Others echoed his concerns, saying they were worried about police officers being used to transport prisoners to and from the cells in Cannock or Stoke rather than protecting Burton.
Mark Redfern said: “So each time someone goes into custody that’s two officers out of use whilst they drive all the way there and back?”
Dionne Jones added: “So when I need police assistance I’m going to have to wait for another 60 minutes due to them being so far away from the area I live in.”
Nik Collyer said: “That’s OK if they invest in more police to escort prisoners to Cannock and not using the officers required to police Burton.”
However, Staffordshire commis- sioner for police, fire and rescue and crime Matthew Ellis has told the Burton Mail that cash saved from the closure is going to be spent on front-line policing.
The police had not specified how much would have been needed for the necessary improvements to the custody suite.
Justifying the move, a spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said the cells were not operating at maximum efficiency anyway because Burton continually has the lowest prisoner numbers of the three custody facilities across the force.
A Staffordshire Police ethics, transparency and audit report revealed that, for the 12 months ending on March 31, 2017, 11,066 prisoners were held in Stoke, 4,456 were held in Cannock’s Watling Street and 3,272 were held in Burton.
A further 350 were held in Tamworth and 68 in Stafford.
Staffordshire Police said: “The police estate, including our custody facilities, is kept under constant review to ensure that it meets the needs of the force most effectively to serve communities and keep people safe.
“As part of this, an extensive review of custody detention services has been undertaken across the force.
“This has identified that significant investment is required at Burton custody to ensure it meets the required operational standards.
“This includes repairs to flooring, a CCTV upgrade and changes to fire panels.
“The closure of the custody facility will not affect the policing of the area. Local officers will continue to have visibility, patrolling the area as usual, working as part of the increased community policing team across East Staffordshire.”