13th November 2007
Police Custody Suite Expansion
Four new cells, fitted with state-of-the-art life monitoring equipment, are opening at the Police Station in Loughborough following a major upgrade of the custody suite.
The new facilities have been built to comply with the new Home Office guidelines on the way that police handle people in custody. All police forces will have to implement these guidelines by 2010.
Now the cell capacity at Loughborough police station has been increased from eight to twelve which will enable local police officers to deal with significantly more people arrested on the North Area which covers the town of Loughborough, the Borough of Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton and Rutland.
The existing eight cells have also been refurbished, a new bespoke medical room has been constructed and the kitchen facilities improved. In addition, four new cells have been built each fitted with radar transmitters that can detect whether the person in the cell is breathing and sound an alarm if it detects a problem.
The Cell Occupant and Occupancy Monitoring System (COMS) is produced by a company called COSATT Ltd which is based in Wiltshire. It is designed to reduce the risk of someone dying in custody and frees up police time because it enables one officer to monitor up to four detainees at the same time. COMS has been in continuous development and enhancement over the last 7 years against a requirement laid down initially by Hertfordshire Constabulary. The system was branded first as the Cell Breathing Monitor, then as LSMS and currently in the latest generation COMS. These cells will be used for the most vulnerable prisoners who require constant watch. They may be suffering from sleep apnoea, the effects of drugs or alcohol abuse or deemed to be at risk of harming themselves. Custody staff are first aid trained and have access to first aid equipment including a defibrillator. Without the system, one officer is required to monitor one ‘vulnerable' prisoner on full time watch. Since the implementation of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), there hasn't been a death in custody in Leicestershire.
As part of the overhaul package, the heating system was also upgraded to enable the temperature in each cell to be adjusted in isolation. CCTV cameras have been built-in to all 12 cells and surrounding corridors. The complete project has cost in the region of £250k. In future all detainees will be booked in by electronic means in order to create a paper free custody suite.
Inspector Clive Thorpe, from the Criminal Justice Unit, said; "The life signs monitoring system is projected to pay for itself within a year because it will save officer time and free up resources to be used elsewhere. We are piloting it on the north initially but hope to see it being used in other custody suites across Leicestershire in the future.
"The increase in the number of cells at Loughborough will enable officers to deal more quickly and easily with people they arrest across the North Area reducing the need to take detainees to custody suites off area, such as Beaumont Leys or even further afield."
The cells will be used for the first time from next Monday (19th November 2007).
News report by T. Robson
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