£8m PSNI police station opens in Coleraine

An £8 million state-of-the-art police station was opened in Coleraine today.

The Coleraine District Command Unit (DCU) Headquarters is the first purpose built DCU headquarters in Northern Ireland and is also the first to be constructed in line with the requirements detailed in the Patten Report.

The Patten Report stated that "police stations built from now on should have, so far as possible, the appearance of ordinary buildings; they should have low perimeter walls and be clearly visible from the street". The report also stated that public reception areas inside police stations should be made more welcoming.

The 4,000 sq m building, with 975 sq m of external stores, provides modern facilities, enabling officers and staff to provide the best possible policing service to the people of the Coleraine area.

The station is the first in Northern Ireland to operate a fully functioning satellite enquiry office to assist people calling at the station. This fits with the design of the new complex, as the entrance to the main station building is some 80 metres from the main road. The satellite enquiry office will handle most of the day-to-day police enquiries.

The station also features a variety of new facilities, including a state of the art Child Abuse and Rape Enquiry (CARE) suite, a ten-cell custody suite incorporating the latest CCTV system, major Incident Rooms, specialist Scenes of Crime (SOCO) examination areas and a multi-function conference room.

Speaking at the official opening, DCU Commander, Superintendent Dawson Cotton praised those involved in the project from Estate Services and contractors through to officers and staff who continued to provide a service while work was ongoing on site. He said: "The officers and staff and indeed, the people of Coleraine, now have the high quality of police station they deserve. 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".

Professor Desmond Rea, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board who officially opened the new complex, said: "Policing is a vital community service and the PSNI needs the full support of the whole community in fighting crime. This new facility has been designed to meet policing and community needs and this new station is central to ensuring effective and efficient policing".

(KMcA)