Prisoners will be taken to Strabane as Omagh cells refurbished

THE PSNI has said that it intends to use the existing, but disused, custody suite in Strabane as a temporary replacement while work is taking place to refurbish the cells at Omagh police station.

A major scheme was due to begin at Omagh’s PSNI station last week to ensure that the custody facilities meet current health and safety regulations. It is expected that the work will take a year to finish.

But an Omagh-based solicitor has claimed the decision to take prisoners to Strabane police station while the Omagh suite is closed could lead to ‘unnecessary extra expense’.

Conor Sally said a temporary custody suite should instead be provided in Omagh for the next year.

“The decision to close the Omagh custody suite will have a massive impact,” he said.

“It will mean that police resources are dragged out of town. If an arrest takes place in Omagh, then the person arrested and the police will have to travel 20 miles to Strabane and back again.

“The alternatives are Derry or Lurgan and Dungannon. This appears to be an ongoing decrease in the number of custody suites in the North, especially following the closure of the custody suite in Enniskillen some years ago.

“This will also have a big impact on the people who are arrested. They are entitled to ask for a solicitor of their choice, who is now likely to be at least 40 minutes away which will have consequences in terms of delays.

“We have seen in the past how work carried out in police stations have gone far beyond the original estimates. Custody suites have also been closed permanently, including Strabane, where the facility there was closed following a refurbishment.”

The upgrade to the Omagh Custody Suite 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.

Mr Sally said the year-long project appears too long for the station in Omagh, which is relatively new.

He called for temporary custody suites to be provided, similar to those which were made in readiness for potential disorder at the G8 Conference of world leaders in Fermanagh in 2013.