PSNI officer addresses concerns over Omagh custody suite closure

A SENIOR PSNI officer has addressed concerns raised by local councillors over the temporary closure of the custody suite at Omagh police station.

Work on a major refurbishment of the facility at the Derry Road station has been ongoing since October last year. It is expected to take 12 months to complete.

In the meantime, people from the Omagh area who have been arrested by the PSNI are being taken to either Strabane or Dungannon custody suites.

Now, the Assistant Chief Constable, Ryan Henderson, has moved to provide more information on the impact of the closure.

He was responding to a letter from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council seeking clarification on the impact of the closure. They have expressed concern about the impact on people detected of suspected drink-driving or similar offences, and whether or not they are spending ‘significant time’ in PSNI vehicles due to them being transported to the Strabane or the nearest available custody suite.

“The maintenance (at Omagh Custody Suite) has commenced and the projected timeline for its completion is 12 months,” ACC Henderson said.

“As such, arrested persons from the Fermanagh and Omagh areas will be transported to the nearest available custody suite. Although the custody suite at Strabane was opened specifically to deal with the additional requirement, the custody suite at Dungannon is also available.

“Resourcing levels are monitored by operational supervisors within the district in order to respond to changing operational demand.

“Feedback from the Senior Leadership team in Fermanagh and Omagh District confirms that there has not been a noticeable increase in overall response times as a result of the short-term changes to custody provision.”

ACC Henderson said that they are continuing to work to minimise any disruption. He reassured the council that the suite in Omagh remains a designated custody suite, and will be operational again once the necessary works are completed.

He added that the Department of Justice is continuing to monitor and evaluate custody provision across the North.