Omagh police station cells close for major refurbishment

A COMPLETE overhaul of the custody suite at Omagh PSNI station began this week to ensure that it meets current health and safety regulations.

Work on the scheme is due to take 12 months to complete.

The upgrade will include a new sprinkler system, new fire doors, the total replacement of the ventilation system, upgrade of plaster work on the walls and cell bed repairs.

There are also plans to replace cell windows, and provide new doors throughout the suite, as well as new ceilings, and new locks on all the doors.

The custody suite in the station on Derry Road is currently the only one in the Fermanagh and Omagh district.

This follows the closure of the suite in Enniskillen in March 2018 after a strategic review of custody provision locally.

The PSNI believe that the one custody suite in Omagh is sufficient to meet demand in the area.

Local PSNI district commander, Superintendent Robert McGowan, said that the PSNI wanted to provide the safest possible custody facilities for detainees.

He said that a contingency plan remains in place which will allow for custody facilities in other areas to continue to meet what the police say are their operational requirements.

“As a publicly-funded organisation, the PSNI has a responsibility to ensure that all of our resources – officers, staff, equipment and buildings – are used in the best and most effective way to support frontline policing,” he added.

Ulster Unionist MLA, Mike Nesbitt, raised the issue at a recent meeting of the Policing Board.

There are currently ten custody suites across the North.

The suites have provision for 115 detained persons at any one time.