Metropolitan Police Authority Member, Tony Arbour, who is also Richmond Counci's Leader and the local London Assembly Member, has highlighted an internal Metropolitan Police report that raises concerns about cell space.

Sent to the Metropolitan Police Authority, it suggests that this may be having a detrimental impact on operational policing in some parts of the capital - especially outer London Boroughs such Richmond.

The report, which comes in the wake of concerns raised at the Metropolitan Police Authority over the length of time Immigration Service detainees spend in Met police custody, highlights that:

• Across the MPS there are only 1097 cells (of which 191 are detention rooms)
• When a survey of custody capacity was undertaken in March 2004 only 81% (886) cells and detention rooms were available/could be made available. The remaining 231 have been closed or mothballed for a variety of reasons.
• Almost one third of London Boroughs need up to 15 more cells to meet current demand.
• Barking and Dagenham, Haringey, Kingston, Richmond and Merton have the worst supplies of cell capacity relative to local demand
• 7,000 detainees have had to be moved because of lack of cell space at a cost to the MPS over £1million per year.
• A shortage of custody capacity is inhibiting arrests in some Boroughs.

The report bears out what local MP Vincent Cable also highlighted earlier in the year, and it concludes that nearly 600 new cells will be required. However, only about 83 of these will be newly built cells, with the rest being refurbished to bring them up to an acceptable and useable standard at a cost of some £120million.

Despite the severe problems with lack of cell space in some Boroughs the report specifically rules out building enough new cells in each Borough to deal with the all of the predicted number of detainees on the grounds of cost. Instead the report recommends that a strategy be adopted to ensure Boroughs have sufficient cell space only 95% of the time by 2010, with detainees having to be moved to cells in other Boroughs on an average of 18 'peak' days per year.

Tony said: "The report is a first step in acknowledging the problem of a lack of cell space in London, especially in Richmond and neighbouring outer London Boroughs. We cannot continue to have a situation where, as this report indicates, individual police officers may not be arresting suspects because there isn't a cell back at the station.

"Tackling the lack of cells is a must if we are to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Met, because we cannot be wasting police officers' time driving across London or sometimes into the Home Counties to find a cell when he or she should be patrolling London.

"Given this it is a pity that the report rules out building enough cells in each Borough so that local police can cope with all eventualities. Indeed in proposing a solution whereby the Met will only aim to have enough cell provision just 95% of the time by 2010 the report is doing little more than fire fighting what is a very real and immediate problem.

"As the night time economy has spread, outer London town centers like Richmond have become hotspots for binge drinking and anti social behaviour of a weekend. If we are to crack down on this very specific problem, as the Government says they want to, then we need new cell space accommodation especially in outer London as soon as possible, not in six years time.

"In the short term the Met should make use of temporary cell accommodation that can be bought and built very quickly, and local councils should help the Met find suitable sites and be sympathetic in assessing planning applications. In the long term however, we should be building enough cells as local police need."

Saturday, August 7, 2004

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