A look inside a newly West Midlands Police refurbished custody suite

Take a look inside the newly refurbished West Midlands Police custody suite. The refurbishment comes as the number of arrests continue to climb. Before the site reopened officers had to use cells in Perry Barr, Stechford or other areas of Birmingham and the West Midlands - but now they have a refurbished custody suite in Bournville.

In 2022, the site had just four custody facilities open, but now there are 17 cells at the refurbished south Birmingham site which has also seen significant changes since it was last used many years ago. 

Medical facilities have been upgraded, the cells have been updated, and new CCTV and audio facilities have been installed - along with space for mental health and drug support. The team also have remote access to youth support workers and veteran support services.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “We have now opened three extra custody blocks since 2022, which gives us a distinct operational advantage in serving the public, as we are quite rightly arresting more people and seeing much better outcomes from our investigations. 

“Custody will never be a perfect science, on occasions for very good reason cell blocks get busy and we often find ourselves dealing with a range of complex needs within a vast amount of regulation and guidance. That said I believe we have delivered a more balanced system which is focused on supporting our frontline officers in making pro-active arrests whilst ensuring that all the elements of safer detention are sensibly addressed.”

Chief superintendent Andy Parsons, head of West Midlands Police’s Criminal Justice Services, said: “While good, the facilities are far from luxurious. Custody remains a very challenging environment where we are responsible for many very vulnerable people with often complex needs.