Cash strapped West Midlands Police spend £1.9 million on state-of-the-art cell blocks

Jul 3 2011 by Jeanette Oldham, Sunday Mercury

A POLICE force which is slashing 2,200 jobs to save money has shut a string of cellblocks – months after splashing £1.9 million on them.

Cash-strapped West Midlands Police refitted 19 of its 23 custody suites with £100,000 of audio and CCTV technology over the last 18 months.

But it has quietly closed 10 to save money and force bosses have confirmed another nine are likely to be ultimately mothballed.

The force hopes to replace them with ‘two super custody blocks’. Only four of the 19 revamped blocks could remain.

In a move that will infuriate public sector workers currently battling over their pensions, the force closed its Stourbridge lock-up just SEVEN MONTHS after kitting it out with state-of-the-art camera and audio technology worth £100,000.

Chief Superintendent Steve Anderson, head of Community Justice and Custody, admitted that ultimately nine of the 13 blocks still open could close if the vision of two superblocks is realised in the next couple of years.

The force would hope to recycle much of the recently installed equipment, but he admitted that realistically just 50 per cent might be reusable.

The cellblocks revamped in the last two years but later closed include Wednesfield, Aston, Dudley, Halesowen, Harborne, Thornhill Road, Chelmsley Wood and Stoney Stanton.

Other police insiders claimed the force had no choice but to press ahead with the costly revamp.

"They’d entered into contracts that meant they’d face huge financial penalties if they didn’t go ahead,’’ they claimed.

‘‘They now want to create super custody blocks across the force, purpose-built. As soon as the money and funding is in place they’ll no doubt look at it.

"But some of us believe the equipment and money spent on doing up the existing custody blocks could be completely wasted. It’s an inexcusable waste when good officers are losing their jobs."

The force began the cell block overhaul in 2009 after official criticism following the death in custody of a Birmingham man.