£15m ultra-modern custody suite to handle 500 people per month

The ‘ultra modern, fit-for-purpose’ block at Waterside Police Station is fitted out with medical facilities that will be staffed by custody nurse practitioners.

ACC Henderson said the new wing at the south eastern end of the Crescent Link station will provide a safer and more comfortable environment for detainees and the police staff who work in it.

"This is a £15m investment. It's been about ten years in the planning, four years in the build, and gives us a 21 cell provision here in an ultra modern, fit for purpose, designed by the people who will be working within it, custody facility.

“It’s supported by a nurse-led model which means that the health care provision within the custody suite is delivered by custody nurse practitioners,” he said.

The building will allow officers to meet the often complex needs of detainees. Anyone detained, and who previously would have been taken into custody at Strand Road, which had nine cells, and Coleraine which had 10 cells, will now go to Waterside. Strand Road Custody Suite has consequently closed while the Coleraine Suite will be used on an ad-hoc basis.

"We expect 400 to 500 detained persons through this suite in any given month and with the facilities we have here it just makes it a really good place, a bright place for our staff to work within, for those detainees to be kept with us in a way that makes sure we do our duty to them and our duty of care to them in a way that absolutely meets the standards that a modern custody suite has to have,” said the former Derry policing commander.

The Waterside suite has a dedicated sight-link court room with direct access to any courtroom in the North. It has been designed to include provision for detainees who are vulnerable, in particular those with neurodiversity needs and those with disabilities.

All of the cells have windows to allow as much natural light in as possible with lighting that can be dimmed if required. The new suite has provision for four cells with LED screens to assist in communication with vulnerable detainees, and exercise yards at the end of each cell wing.

ACC Henderson acknowledges many detainees end up in police custody at times of crisis and need extra care and support.

“What police tend to see within the custody suites is very much the front line of some of the crises that are facing people across Northern Ireland.

"So many of the detainees that come through have got needs in terms of addiction, health care, literacy, a whole lot of complex issues that they have.

"Here is an opportunity within the cell area to actually have those needs met, that thinks about them, not just as somebody who is in the custody provision, but also someone who needs greater support because actually policing is about preventing people being subject to harm or committing harm.”

The new block will fully replace existing cell provision at Strand Road. ACC Henderson said there is simply no comparison between the two.

“The previous accommodation that we have is night and day when you look at what we have here now.

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"When a detainee comes through the purpose built doors to this building they'll come to a wide and open desk where they are booked in and they'll be assessed in terms of their medical needs.

"They will be taken to cell provision where there is really good access to lighting, there is exercise provision. It's just an appropriate, modern custody facility that makes the whole process much more appropriate to our duty to those detainees that we have but also to our staff who are working within that environment because by being a modern, fit-for-purpose custody environment, it is a safer place for everybody to work.”

Department of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter May, particularly welcomed the health service’s involvement in the new facility.

"This service provides Health and Social Care a unique opportunity to engage or re-engage with one of the most vulnerable populations in Northern Ireland.

"Since the introduction of the 24 hour nurse-led custody healthcare service, a number of referral pathways have been developed from police custody to both statutory and non-statutory services, such as referrals for mental health treatment, addictions treatment, and testing and treatment for blood-borne viruses,” he said.

Northern Ireland Policing Board Chair Deirdre Toner said: “The Board welcomes the opening of this new suite which modernises police custody provision in the North West.

"It is positive that Waterside can now provide dedicated on-site healthcare support which will ensure that people detained can receive appropriate care and support, particularly those who are more vulnerable."

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Richard Pengelly, Permanent Secretary, Department of Justice said: “The Department of Justice welcomes the opening of the new custom built custody suite at Waterside.

"The facility will allow PSNI to deliver custody provision which covers a range of areas, including healthcare, in an environment that meets the needs of both detainees and staff. It is a great example of what can be achieved through partnership working.”

ACC Henderson said the new suite is part of the police service’s move to fewer but better police stations.

“Our long term plan for our custody provision is to build fewer but bigger purpose built custody suites. That allows us to make some efficiencies in terms of where we have our people based in terms of the numbers of people.

"But actually in terms of those detained persons it allows us to invest in a facility that much more meets the needs of the detainees rather than what we had previously,” he said.

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