£1.2m renovation of custody suite after inspection concern
POLICE CHIEF CONSTABLE TOURS NEW FACILITY WHICH ‘IMPROVES CONDITIONS FOR STAFF AND PRISONERS’
LINCOLNSHIRE Police’s new Chief Constable Paul Gibson has officially unveiled the new custody suite at Skegness Police Station.
The facility has been renovated to the tune of £1.2m to bring it up to current specifications and guidelines, as well as meet recommendations made by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, following its inspection in May 2022.
The work saw improvements of the heating and ventilation system, installation of new panic alarm, fire alarm, and CCTV systems, as well as a new intercom.
A police spokesperson said bringing the custody suite up to correct specification also enables the force to capture the best evidence for our investigations.
“It offers improvements to the medical room, interview rooms, and rooms where we take biometrics such as fingerprints and DNA,\2 the force said in a statement.
“The heating plant for the custody suite was coming to the end of its life so it was updated to run on air source heat pumps, which aligns with the force’s decarbonisation strategy.
“It also means that custody is now not reliant on natural gas for the heating and reduces the heating load on the boilers that supply heating to the station.
“We fitted a call system to the cells so the detainees can communicate with the custody desk, this will enable custody staff to communicate with the detainees immediately, rather than having to go to cells every time the detainee presses a button.”
The suite also has a new fully computerised panic alarm system, rather than the previous system of lights on a board.
The CCTV system has had the latest high-definition cameras installed which have been repositioned to avoid blind spots.
A third interview room is equipped with a full video interview system, and new furniture as been installed in all the interview rooms.
Speaking at the opening, Chief Constable Gibson said: “The impact of these refurbishments means that we are not only treating prisoners with dignity and respect, but there will also be improved handling of evidence and improved working conditions for our staff and partners, which is bound to have a tremendously positive impact on the quality of our investigative process.”
The force said it will be moving on to a renovation of the Boston custody suites although an exact date has not been announced.
A prisoner van based within the East Lindsey area was used to transport prisoners to the other suites, mainly Boston or Lincoln, while Skegness was closed for the refurbishment.
There are currently four custody suites in Lincolnshire at Boston, Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness where there are 13 cells. ticketed fundraising evening concerts as well as free music in the bandstand afternoons when the bar will also be open.