Concern for PSNI officer safety after Fermanagh custody suite closure

The Police Federation has expressed 'concern' for the safety of police officers over custody suite closures.

The union fears they have to travel long distances to custody suites because Enniskillen has been shut permanently and Omagh is closed for 12 months for refurbishment.

Officers have told UTV it is taking vital resources away and adding to stress and pressure in the job.

Enniskillen custody suite was closed in 2021 and the PSNI says there are no plans to reopen it.

''After careful and exhaustive consideration of a range of factors including the standard of the custody facilities, the level of demand, the needs of the community and of detainees," police said in a statement.

"The ongoing refurbishment work in Omagh is part of our long term custody strategy which aims to provide safe and accessible custody provision across the service."

Fermanagh solicitor Gary Black thinks Enniskillen can't understand why it was closed in the first place and wants to see it reopen.

"You could have four persons arrested and all of a sudden you have four vehicles and eight officers on route to custody now in Strabane and that certainly has lead to more officers off the ground."

In a statement the PFNI said: "Our concern is the potential risk to officers who have to spent longer periods in vehicles transporting detained and occasionally violent individuals.

"Officers can be impacted by working longer hours if they need to interview and then return to their home station which may be 60 miles away at the end of their shift.

"Nightshift would pose a particular safety concern with the additional travelling when tired.  "Travelling long distances also impacts on the resources available in the towns that theofficers leave".

Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark Owns told UTV: "We are the biggest council in NI [by size] and it just strikes that it's madness that there isn't a single custody suite in this entire area. 

"I wouldn't be surprised that officers are considering making fewer arrests because of the long distances they have to travel. It's unfortunately perhaps one of the unintended consequences of the decision close Enniskillen and then subsequently to temp close Omagh". 

Over the past decade, 10 custody suites have been closed across Northern Ireland.

The PSNI said: "There is no evidence that fewer arrests in the Fermanagh and Omagh district are as a result of officers travelling with detained people to custody.

"When responding to incidents police officers must consider all of the available criminal justice outcomes and disposals, including arrest, street bail, community resolution notices and cautions".

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