Further pledge over hopes to fully reopen Hartlepool police station

We reported how Labour’s Dr Paul Williams vowed to reopen Hartlepool Custody Suite if he’s elected as Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner in May.

The move to mothball the custody suite on Avenue Road was taken at the start of 2019 as part of efforts to save on costs.

It meant those arrested were taken to Middlesbrough to be processed.

Figures from the Safer Stockton Partnership showed recorded crime in Hartlepool rose slightly in 2019/20 compared to the year before.

Dr Williams visited the station on Wednesday March 11 as part of a vow to “put more police on the streets”.

He said he’d looked at the numbers and had spoken to Chief Constable Richard Lewis about the idea.

He added: “It doesn’t make sense to waste everyone’s time and take police away from the streets of Hartlepool making transfers to Middlesbrough and East Durham, when we can use Hartlepool’s cells.

Now the Conservative candidate Steve Turner has made his own pledge to look into the issue.

He said he believed the force had made “too many knee jerk reactions” – pointing to last year’s damning HM Inspectorate of Constabulary report.

He confirmed he would investigate the feasibility of reopening the custody suite if he was elected – but added it “might not be the right thing to do”.

Mr Turner said: “The closure of the custody suite at Hartlepool last year was a body blow to the town and sent out completely the wrong message to residents.

“This resource, and others like it, provide options for our officers – and having the right custody locations will improve the travel times currently taken to transport criminals from the point of arrest to the point of custody.

“If elected, I will instigate a full review into the feasibility of re-opening this and other custody suites across the area.”

Voters will go to the polls to decide the next commissioner on May 7.