Police custody centres 'will not be used as prisons'
New police custody centres in Suffolk and Norfolk will not become overflow prisons, according to the man who has just been appointed to manage them.
Chief Supt Carl Puiy, the longest serving officer on the Suffolk force – he started his career in 1977 as a Pc in Lowestoft – is retiring from the service to take up a police staff role managing six new police investigation centres in Suffolk and Norfolk
The Bury St Edmunds centre, at Romany Way, will provide 24 cells which will be open every day of the year and hold people for up to 24 hours.
It will be used by Suffolk and Norfolk Police, who will also share a 30-cell unit at Gorleston.
There will be a 30-cell centre in Ipswich and three further centres in Norfolk.
The planning application for the Bury site, lodged and approved last year, sparked protests from nearby residents, who claimed it would effectively become a prison and 'blight' the town.
But Chief Supt Puiy said the centres would not be used for prison overspill as they would only have enough capacity for people in short-term custody.
"A lot of people who are arrested are, on investigation, released without charge. Most of them are released within six hours and we would not have extra capacity for Home Office prisoners," he said.
The Bury centre will be paid for through a Private Finance Initiative and a preferred bidder is to be announced before Christmas. It is expected to be up and running by autumn 2010.
Chief Supt Puiy has held a range of positions during his career. He was a chief inspector at Bury and inspector at Stowmarket, Sudbury and Haverhill and a superintendent in operations. Recently he was temporary assistant chief constable.
The 51-year-old, who lives in Stowmarket, was project manager for introducing the police helicopter to the county and worked on the security for Claudia Schiffer's wedding. He was also match commander for England versus Croatia at Portman Road in 2003.
He said: "It has been fantastic working for Suffolk Constabulary because everyone here genuinely cares about the county and the service they give.
"There's going to be significant work done on safer detention and the new police investigation centres. The time is definitely right to do something different and I can't wait for the challenge of a new role."
Suffolk Police is a family affair for Chief Supt Puiy – his wife Angela is a sergeant at Stowmarket and his daughter Amanda is a PCSO.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Friday 25 May 2012
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