Question
Question on status/ costs of custody suites refurbishment across NI requested more detail on the evaluation of changes so far, for example, should Officers be travelling further to access a suite and the impact of doing so.
Answer
The PSNI has a responsibility to ensure that custody facilities are compliant, sustainable, and reflective of modern policing values, placing dignity, safety, and welfare at the heart of detention while supporting efficiency, workforce wellbeing, and criminal justice outcomes. The PSNI currently operates a custody estate comprising seven suites that are routinely used, supported by contingency facilities. These suites collectively provide a total of 135 cells, of which 91 are available for routine operational use, excluding contingency and TACT capacity. (October 25)
This network of facilities continues to provide a fit for purpose custody provision, supporting daily operational policing and ensuring detainees are managed safely and professionally across all districts.
The maintenance costs associated with the facilities within older suite such as Banbridge and Lurgan are rising, and there is limited ability to upgrade or modernise these suites to the standards now expected of contemporary custody environments. This has been a key consideration in developing the case for replacing these with larger, purpose built super suites, which can deliver long term operational efficiency, modern design standards, and improved integration of services. PSNI Estates cannot provide a specific cost for current custody suite maintenance as these costs are embedded within the overall running and maintenance costs for each police station.
The custody estate is recognised as the most expensive [£/m2] area of construction with higher pro rata 24/7 running costs compared to other functions in the PSNI Estate. This is due to the robustness of the structure and finishes, niche fittings, technology and plant, a lack of competition amongst suppliers and sub-contractors, and the necessity for a high level of quality finish to minimise a risk of harm to the detainees and staff. The custody investment is underpinned by quality and subsequent value for money.
Refurbishment costs vary dramatically due to the size, age, complexity, condition, end of life materials, known and unknown installations that are not to standard or compliant, and the extent of works required to address the standards. Other variables include inflation, material costs and labour availability.
The business case for Omagh custody refurbishment currently stands at £2,880,246. Musgrave first floor custody refurbishment stands at £1,924,705. These costs includes the construction costs, professional fees, inflation, optimism bias and ICS costs. The final account has yet to be agreed hence the final costs will likely be lower than the business case.
Custody suites across the PSNI estate are designated as a service wide resource, and used accordingly. Arrested persons should be conveyed to the most suitable custody suite, which may not be the nearest suite to where the arrest has taken place. Some of the factors to be considered when assessing which custody suite is most suitable for the arrested person include if the arrest is for a warrant issued by a particular court, if the nature of the offence means that there is a requirement to bring the arrested person to the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave, if there is a requirement for a dry cell and the nearest custody suite cannot provide this, or if there are a number of arrested persons waiting to be booked into the nearest suite and the arrested person would be presented to the custody officer earlier if they were brought to another suite.
The impact of the closure of Omagh custody suite is being managed locally and through the PSNI’s Strategic Custody Group. Whilst the temporary situation is not ideal, as of November 2025, there has been no increase nor impact on police response times in Fermanagh and Omagh, as a result of the short term changes to custody provision.
The culmination of the works is projected to be the end of February 2026.
Peter Osborne