NEW police stations in the area are to be controversially built and run by private companies.

The 25 year Private Funding Initiative (PFI) contract has been signed by property firm Equion to build and run police stations in Bromley, Lewisham and Deptford and has cost £120 million.

The project will introduce a raft of new private civilian support services in the UK's first run-for-profit police stations.

Civilian gaolers and are to become the norm in the new stations, and will take responsibility for "suspect processing".

Senior police and PFI oligarchs say this will put dozens of bobbies back on the beat instead of pushing paper.

But civil rights and public service experts have slammed the move as another step towards a privatised Criminal Justice System.

Construction on the sites starts as soon as next month, and is planned to finish as early as 2003.

The Bromley station will be built on the site of the old NCP car park next to Bromley South Station, while the Lewisham station will be built on the site of the old Army and Navy store in the High Street.

The Deptford station will be built on the car park of the present police station, in Amersham Vale.

Equion will provide hundreds of staff to manage the custody suites, front desk services and prisoner property, evidence and equipment stores.

Equion Managing Director Richard Weston said: "The broad range of support services we will provide will enable the police to focus on their front line duties."

Bromley police's senior resources manager Dave Prebbles said: "The new building will allow us to offer a better service to our customers, with more space and more privacy. It is very good news."

The Met Police Authority is hoping the move will cut annual costs in some areas by creating a more efficient system.

Hundreds of people will be employed on the 15,000sqm of office space to be built by Laing Construction. Plans include facilities for the Serious Crime Group and the Mounted Branch.

But the Centre for Public Services, a non-profit making body which is preparing a report on the impact of PFI provision in the legal system, slammed the decision.

Spokesman Dexter Whitfield told the News Shopper Online: "This is another very worrying extension of PFI into the Criminal Justice System.

"The idea of civilian 'suspect processing' has all kinds of extremely serious implications."

"PFI in the magistrates courts have been a catastrophe with entire court hearings postponed because of staff shortages for guarding the prisoners.

"There is no evidence whatsoever to show that more police will be back on the beat as a result of this move. I think the people in the area have every right to be concerned about this."

October 30, 2001 15:23

Lawrence Shaw & John Higginson