£8m 'Patten police station' opens doors

A new £8m (€11.6m) state-of-the-art police station was opened today in Northern Ireland.

The station, which will house the headquarters of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Coleraine District Command Unit, is the first of its kind to be built in line with the recommendations of the Patten Report on police reform.

It will operate a satellite inquiry office for people calling at the station, handling much of the day-to-day business.

The new facilities also include a new suite for dealing with child abuse and rape cases, a police training area and a 10-cell custody suite with a closed circuit television system.

It will also house major incident rooms, specialist scenes of crime examination areas and a multi-function conference room.

Supt Dawson Cotton, the local district command unit’s commander, paid tribute today to all those involved in the building of the station and officers who continued to provide a police service while it was being built.

“The officers and staff and, indeed, the people of Coleraine, now have the high quality of police station they deserve,” he said.

“This station will help us deliver a valuable policing service to the people of Coleraine District and will also provide a first-class working environment for officers and staff here.”

The chairman of the Policing Board in Northern Ireland, Professor Desmond Rea, officially opened the new complex.

He said the station reflected policing in the 21st century.

“Policing is a vital community service and the PSNI needs the full support of the whole community fighting crime,” he said.

“This new facility has been designed to meet policing and community needs and this new station is central to ensuring effective and efficient policing.”

A commission on police reform chaired by former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten recommended that police stations in Northern Ireland in the future should have the appearance of ordinary buildings with low perimeter walls and clear visibility from the street.

The Patten Report also recommended that reception areas for the public inside the stations should be made more welcoming.