Proposed Relocation of Police HQ - Civilian Staff - Submission - 17 January 2013

Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel

Relocation of Police HQ - Feedback responses from civil service staff Introduction

Nine comments were received from civilian staff at Police HQ on an anonymous basis. The concerns identified were very similar to those from police officers, the issues of parking and lack of expansion opportunities featuring strongly as well as some particular details relating to specific functions. This paper contains

• a summary of the concerns
• full comments received from civilian staff (names removed)
• response from the Deputy Chief Officer to issues raised

Summary: In summary, the concerns were: General issues

• No room for expansion
• Congested parking provision in the area
• Lack of parking for staff
• Safety for staff leaving the building late at night to access distant parking
• Traffic/tunnel congestion - emergency response may be delayed
• Inadequate parking for visitors to the enquiry desk
• Unsuitable exit for police vehicles on to Route du Fort
• Offsite parking for oversized vehicles

Specific issues

• Control room – inadequate size for current CCTV equipment, lack of windows and inadequate kitchen & rest room facilities
• Air conditioning and air circulation in areas of high computer usage
• Desk sizes: Workstation area too small; insufficient number of desks for needs of unit
• Centralised printing
• Storage area for files
• Limited locker provision for staff
• Location of property store
• Inadequate facilities for bicycle storage concern over security

One respondent highlighted the inadequacies of the current accommodation; three voiced frustration at the delays and urged the States to get on with the new building.

Comments received in full

Purely from a practical point of view my concerns are as follows:

1. The building will barely be big enough and will leave no room for expansion. I can see that after a few years the premises will be far too small.
2. Parking for visitors will be a problem. I have heard a number of proposed solutions but none that are likely to be very successful.
3. During peak times the Green Street roundabout is gridlocked with traffic from all directions so emergency calls will be problematic. Admittedly emergency vehicles have to negotiate this area at the moment when proceeding east but if the Station is situated there they will have a problem every time they leave the station during peak hours.

I fully agree that a new Police HQ is long overdue and is needed as a matter of urgency but I do not believe that the Green Street is the right location.

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[ ] I was asked to look at the plans for the new control room. Where I was asked to,

and gave my opinion, that this is also too small for its purpose, I felt I was being fobbed off.

On the plans it did not make provision for all the equipment that we currently use and did not have enough socket points. Plans are to have all the CCTV equipment within the control room on one wall instead of in a separate room, where it is at the moment. This is due to the noise and having to keep this equipment at a low temperature for cooling purposes.

 There are only small high level windows that we won't be able to see out of. There are no kitchen facilities to make tea, coffee, or light snacks. When asked about this I was told they would put in a vending machine, bearing in mind that we sit at our desks usually for 10 hours at a time and often have to eat at our desks this is unacceptable. The control room is manned 24 hours, there should always be 3 persons working in the control room and at weekends an extra civilian works in the CCTV room. This is not always possible and staff cannot leave the control room for any length of time in order to go down the corridor to the proposed rest room they have on the plans.

 Regarding the parking, it's not just the fact that there will be none for police vehicles or staff, the area for the custody bay is inadequate, both in space and regarding cross contamination issues between suspects and victims. It is not suitable for vehicles to exit the premise going code 1, straight out onto a roundabout in busy traffic.

I believe all the vans and some of the patrol cars are to be parked down at La Collette as there is no space at the new HQ, how can officers provide a fast response when they have to be transported to their vehicles first. There is also no space for members of the public to park when they come to the enquiry desk with a query, or to provide officers with statements, which can take some considerable time.

 As to myself, I [ ] will have to walk in the dark to wherever I have been able to park my car at all hours of the night on my own.

If a female prisoner is released from cells at 3 o'clock in the morning they are transported home for safety, yet I'll be left on my own to walk to my car. They are reducing parking in Green St car park by 92 spaces; all the adjacent roads are residents parking, which means I will probably have to park a considerable distance away from the new HQ.

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I was a serving Police officer for over 16 years prior to just becoming a civilian! so feel I can comment on the location from the point of view of someone who has had to drive rapid response through traffic. The proposed location is not suitable; it is too close to the tunnel and the wrong side. The traffic in that area comes to a standstill both ends of day, which would make it very difficult to head west in a hurry and difficult to head north, plus the tunnel is closed during the night on occasions.

There is no room for expansion.

No/limited parking for enquiries plus upset those that park in that area already!!

 Notwithstanding the above, I live in [ ], a mile from the nearest bus stop (my choice I know) so I have no choice but to drive in, plus the bus times are dreadful. The current parking facilities behind the Ambulance station are poor, but free for those that use it. I myself have had to rent a space as I have child care issues and therefore need to be able to get to my car, which the current car park does not allow, becoming completely jammed up unless you're parked before 0630!!! The thought of having to canvas another parking space and getting through the traffic to the other side of town is not a pleasant one.

 For what it's worth, I think it's a stupid location, move Ambo to the PHQ office building, build the Police Station on the Ambo site, then build new office buildings on the current Summerland site (instead of more housing). Rebuild the PHQ office building. All emergency services stay in the same location? All happy, but that's too simple.

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[ ] I have attended the first meeting for our work area with the planning team, it was event that they had been given a brief to work to, the plan showed our office area with 600cm wide desks ( like a call centre), this being far too small for the nature of work carried out . They were told this and shown our work areas.

However the plan did not have sufficient desks for all staff within the office and appeared to be short by over 10 desks. A new unit had been added to our team but was not shown in the head count. I am unsure if the new plan takes these in to account as I have not seen them. I had not been asked back to further meetings.

We explained that we needed storage areas for files and were told this would take place off site, where/ how to access etc.

The plan was for us to have a printing room which may well be on a different floor, we tried to explain the problems we could see with this but had been told this is a states wide plan to cut down on printing. That we should be working to a paperless system, this at present is not possible as to the way we and more importantly others work.

The matter of public parking at the station, I cannot see how you can have a police station for the public to attend to without parking.

There are various reasons why people will drive to the station. The disabled person matter has already been flagged up.

If a person has been required to produce their driving documents and to have a defect check to have been fixed on their vehicle, would an officer then have to go with this person to the public car park to view the vehicle.

A person bringing or collecting found/lost property. Bail reporting.

Those people attending the station, children/probation officers, appropriate adults, legal advisers, parents collecting detained children, etc.

Witness requested to attend to give statement, where do you park for how long and to the cost of whom, if you can't find any parking and are late how much officers time is lost waiting

Taxi drivers who have a problem with a fare drive right to the station for help; this could not take place any more.

 You have had your vehicle broken into /or damaged and wish to report it , where do you go and how is your vehicle viewed/ the damage recorded or examined, at present this takes place in the yard or covered areas at the station. There is talk of these examinations taking place at another location?

2 parking spaces at snow hill might help but then how do you police these..

There is talk that the public desk would be closed (unsure within what times) with only a phone on the wall..is this why you will not need public parking.

The fact that large vehicles cannot be fitted in the garage was a point I brought up on the first meeting as this has been a problem when we had other sites for the new station. On an operational point if you have to store the crew bus etc off site then how can it attend at the station to collect officers who would be at the station, or would these officers have to be briefed and deployed from the vehicles store rather than the police station

There is no staff parking so where do all these extra parking spaces come from in an already over used car parking areas. (at present there are parking spaces for management will these still remain in the new station plan?)

We were told that there would be a locker for every staff member questioned this as to size ie to put a crash helmet in if you used a motor cycle, do not think this will be possible in the smaller station and if no locker where do you put such clothing?

Having seen the view of the site entrance way I can see people drive up to the off road pull in area to the barrier and then wait to be dealt with , this would then block the route in for any other vehicles or do you get them to back out on to a busy road way.

Bottom line it looks too small and is in the wrong place.

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I have two concerns, one general and one specific. My general concern is that the site is not big enough and the force will outgrow the station within a matter of years.

My specific concern relates to the property store. In the plans which I have been shown the main property store will be located on the very top floor and will be serviced by a goods lift in order to transport property from the transit store up to the main store. However, it seems very impractical that the property staff will be based on the top floor, so far from the enquiry desk, given that they are constantly being called to the enquiry desk to return property and deal with property queries. It is also questionable whether the space that has been allowed for property, both in the main store and the temporary store, is big enough given that the intention is to merge all current stores into one.

In fact, the whole layout of the proposed station seems, to me, to be very disjointed and not thought through.

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In my personal opinion I do not feel that the Proposed New Police HQ at Green Street is a viable option. My reasons for this being that this is a very traffic congested area with not only holiday makers but also local people finding the roundabout at the end of the tunnel rather confusing. I have doubts as to whether the size of the building would cater for the whole of the States of Jersey Police. There is also the issue of vehicle parking where would all the emergency vehicles be parked and also there is the prospect that people visiting & employees would have very limited places.

 In regards to when there is emergencies for the police, should they take the tunnel route which appears to be congested most of the time due to the roundabout there is no option for cars to pull up and let them through.

 A possible viable option would be to obtain Rouge Bouillon School and extend the local police headquarters as they are now, with the prospect of moving rouge bouillon school into the old girls college site at the bottom of La Pouquelaye which would cater for their purpose as this specific site is already built for a schools purpose.

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I work in an office separate to the rest of High Tech Crime due to the nature of their work. My office contains a lot of computer equipment and generates a lot of heat. I need to have sufficient air conditioning and air circulation, not just for my comfort but also to keep the equipment working. Too much difference in temperature can cause condensation to form in the demultiplexer and computers to fail.

Also my job is going to be shared so there will be two people using the office starting from January 2013. I am concerned about being stuck in a tiny room with no sunlight or room for manoeuvre. I sometimes have to dismantle DVRs (Digital Video Recorders, about the size of desktop computers).

I cycle to work every day and I am concerned about where bikes will be kept. There are a lot of cyclists in SOJP and even with the current situation I sometimes have to lock my bike to railings as there are insufficient bike stands. With my job I have seen what happens to bikes left in public car parks and I would not like this to happen to my main mode of transport. Will there bike racks at the new premises, and if so, will there be sufficient in number? The current style of bike rack used by SOJP does not work very well so a different design would be better.

****************************************************************************************************** I have had sight of the new plans for the station and a few points have come up .

 At the very first meeting to talk through the plans it was said all staff would have a locker, this would have been very nice, however as I would expect now operations officers will have a locker. It was said at the viewing of these new plans that there MIGHT be some small lockers, when asked if you could put a crash helmet or the like in that size, no.

 I have in the past cycled to work but if there is no locker space or the like where could one keep any clothing/wash things.

 At present like a number of other staff members I use a motor cycle to come to work, without standing as to where I could park when I get to work, the next problem is where to put your helmet and wet weather gear. I have been told there is a drying room for the whole building and that this could be used, but question if this could deal with number of staff who would need to use it.

 Our desk size has been reduced I think to be able to fit the required number of staff in a department, by the nature of the work it is not like a call centre or such and you do need the space to work at your desk with paper file, I have been told we have smaller desks as we do not need large desks as we will not have the computer on the desk only the screen

 I was told on viewing the new plans that further public parking MIGHT be forth coming in snow hill car park, however this still fails to address those matter where people come to the station with their car, to report damage, have it examined by soco, produce it to confirm defect is corrected, etc.

Still think it is too small and in the wrong place however it appears there is a drive for it was the buildings we are in are not right size upkeep etc, fine but let's not rush into something else which will still not be right

**************************************************************************************************** Regarding the new PHQ. Yes, please build it! Ha-ha! ***************************************************************************************************

I have responsibility for Custody and criminal justice functions and therefore manage staff in the old arsenal building and Summerland. Both sites are completely unfit for purpose and create a number of barriers to working efficiently and effectively. In Summerland the roof leaks and we have to negotiate a selection of buckets and bins to get to our desks. The air conditioning unit is defunct and the office is either too hot or too cold. Some offices have no natural light having been created originally as store cupboards. The open plan nature of the office space impacts upon the service we give to witnesses and victims.

The toilet facilities are sub-standard and the cubicles themselves are too small for pregnant ladies to fit into. There are no facilities for nursing mothers and I know that some have been discouraged from continuing to breast feed due to a lack of refrigeration facilities and a sanitary place to express.

I employ a person who requires the use of a guide dog. He is therefore completely unable to access the Summerland facility for health and safety reasons including traffic, slippery surfaces, unsafe stairways and inadequate toilet facilities. This impacts on team building and inclusion across my department. There is no lift and injured staff who would otherwise be able to work require further certificated sick leave until they can negotiate the stairs and the heavy outside door without the aid of crutches.

The custody building is a disgrace and has been declared so on many occasions by various agencies. It is an un-healthy environment for both staff and detained persons. The geography of the building does not facilitate the safer detention of prisoners and staff are obliged to work in cramped conditions with poor heating and lighting for long periods. At times, we are required to detain children who have committed serious offences and the facilities are totally unfit for this purpose. Equally, for staff and detainees with limited mobility or disability, there are no facilities to meet their access needs.

A new building will mitigate all the risks highlighted above. The States of Jersey has a duty to provide the standard of facilities that public servants have a right to expect in the 21st Century. In addition to creating a healthier physical environment, modern facilities will significantly raise morale and enable managers to maximise the potential of their teams to be more efficient and effective which will provide better service to the public.

To sum up in a few words: Utter frustration - just get on and build it !!!

Having been at States of Jersey Police for 14 years, I am probably well placed to comment on the fact that we have gone from one false dawn to another with regards to new accommodation.

 My main question to Scrutiny would be – if they decide that the proposed site is too cramped, doesn't have adequate parking or scope for future expansion, presumably the implication is that the Force will need a larger site and a larger building. Are they going to recommend that the States spends more on a new headquarters if they go against the current proposal?

Police Station relocation: civilian staff feedback – response from Deputy Chief Officer, dated 10th January 2013

Thank you for providing copies of comments provided to the Scrutiny Panel by members of SoJP staff following a further opportunity for civil servants to contribute to the consultation process. I note a common theme around the comments in respect of the suitability of the proposed location for the PHQ at Green Street, parking issues and the like to which we have already provided a substantive response to the panel. There is no need to repeat these as they remain unchanged.

A number of new points have been raised however to which l provide comment below: Lockers.

Locker sizes for police officers and civilian staff do vary in size. Given the quantity of PPE and equipment on personal issue to officers, their lockers are larger than for civilian staff who will have standard lockers. I am advised that they will store a motor cycle helmet.

Desk sizes.

Desk sizes do vary dependent upon the type of work being undertaken and amount of computer equipment required. General purpose desks are slightly smaller than some other computer workstations but comply with British Office Standards.

CCTV Equipment – Control Room.

The installation of a multi-flat screen video wall in the Force Control Room is a new innovation for SoJP. Many UK police control rooms now incorporate video walls in order to assist visually in the command and control of incidents being managed. This arrangement also takes up considerably less space. There is no noise pollution.

Air Conditioning.

M&E Engineers Hoare Lee have developed the heating and ventilation systems for the building which is based on the VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume) principle which ensures an even and balanced temperature flow and control throughout the whole building.

Centralised Printing.

The move to a self-contained single building provides many business opportunities and benefits for more efficient working through co-location. Given the number of existing buildings occupied by the SoJP and the office configurations, a large number of printers are in use. During the CSR process, the numbers of printers were significantly rationalised,

however, this can go further in the proposed building with shared printing facilities on each floor. Indeed, this is a policy which has already been widely adopted by the States of Jersey and one which the SoJP will adopt.

Bicycle Storage.

This comment relates to the storage of recovered lost and stolen bicycles that come into police possession rather than arrangements for staff cycles. A new approach has been adopted over recent months with regards to the storage and disposal of recovered bicycles which has led to very few now being retained and either returned directly to the owner or disposed of by a third party company under contract. There will be provision for such storage in the basement at the PHQ.

You will be aware that a further drop-in' meeting was arranged for staff to meet with Taylor Young architects on Friday 14th December 2012. This was quite well attended and was very

positive and supportive.

Issues raised included the following:

• Location of the building
• To understand how car parking worked for operational vehicles
• Document storage, and
• Expansion space.

Comments about the custody facility and how it would work were very positive – staff were impressed by the layout and its relationship to other operational areas. A suggestion was made (previously commented upon) to provide a connection / access into custody from the general enquiry desk area. This is fully supported and can be accommodated.

There was also a query about the separation of the operational and intelligence function in the JFCU area. This was explained and clarified as previously reported.

Note: further clarification was received from the Projects Manager on two particular issues:

• Control Room: concern about lack of windows and inadequate kitchen & rest room facilities: There are glazed windows to the East, South and West aspect of the FCR, whilst the North aspect has High level windows to provide natural light into this area, throughout the design stage we have sought input and updated information from Ham Associates – who are the leading ergonomics that work closely with the Home Office. There is a Kitchen Facility directly outside of FCR (OH&S reasons) not in the working area. The Silver Command room that is situated next to FCR can be utilised a rest room for FCR staff (when not required for Operational reasons), also a canteen will be provided for all staff on the first floor.

• Bicycle Storage: concern about security for staff bicycles left in an exposed area: The bicycles will be in a purpose built bike rack that will have locking and security facilities whilst being overseen by CCTV.