Closure threat to Lisburn PSNI custody suite

The PSNI custody suite at Lisburn Police Station is under threat of closure.

If the proposal to close it is approved, people arrested may have to be taken to Musgrave Street station in Belfast for questioning.

Policing Board member, Jonathan Craig MLA, was shocked to learn that Lisburn’s custody suite is on a list for potential closure.

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Under proposed plans, the number of suites in Northern Ireland where suspects are held and questioned could be cut from 16 to nine - causing concerns about the impact on tackling crime.

Mr Craig said: “I have spoken to the local Area Commander and he has confirmed that the custody suite in Lisburn is on a list for potential closure.

“He also explained that anyone who is arrested will now have to be taken to Musgrave Street if no other facilities are available locally. This will cause further problems for the PSNI themselves in that journey times for arrests will increase and this will have a negative impact on the number of officers available on the ground.”

Mr Craig will raise the issue with the Chief Constable and ask about the potential risks such a move would cause.

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He commented: “Given the massive budget cut that the Department of Justice has imposed upon the PSNI this year, some £51m, and the consequences of that I would also ask for the Minister of Justice to have a rethink of what these cuts will do to the PSNI. Not only is he imposing the full cuts of his Department on the PSNI but he is also imposing an additional cost of approximately £18m this year which comes from the mismanagement of his own budget for legal aid, a move which puts the financing of wealthy barristers above the need for Police Officers on the ground.”

While £10m from the £100m Treasury bailout of the Executive went to policing, the PSNI is still facing pressures on its budget. If the plans go ahead, suites at Grosvenor Road, Belfast, Lisburn, Ballymena, Dungannon, Enniskillen, and Londonderry would close by the end of next year.

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