IT’S the £32m landmark that heralds a new era in the history of policing in Southampton.

Towering into the sky on the edge of the city centre is the iconic new police station that will become home to more than 500 staff and officers from next week.

The move to the impressive new building comes after 78 years of policing from the Civic Centre and brings with it an array of impressive new facilities that places it among the best and most modern stations in the country.

It was on November 9, 1933 when Southampton police moved from the Bargate Police Station into their then plush headquarters alongside the old magistrates’ court.

At the time they were billed as luxurious and spacious – but in recent years they became so dilapidated and overcrowded they were simply no longer fit for purpose.

They resembled more of a “shabby corner office” than a place that offered a professional public service, according to city police boss, Chief Superintendent Matthew Greening.

And so it was in 2006 that funding was approved for a state of the art new headquarters – and the land on which to build it in Southern Road was acquired at a knockdown price.

Hit by initial delays, including the relocation of an electricity pylon and the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb, work soon got under way following the appointment of developers Kier.

The construction giant employed some 500 people for the project, initially billed to take 85 weeks.

Gradually rising from the ground, each of the eight floors were put in place on the 8,500 sq ft building, which is glazed on both sides and clad in limestone similar to that used at their soon to be former home.

Throughout this week the final teams from the civic centre station and others from across the city have made the move to their new home, which will be officially open to the public from Monday afternoon.

As well as uniformed officers, specialist teams will be based in the new headquarters, including the priority crime unit, which has until now been stationed at Hulse Road, and the public protection team, which was formerly based at Shirley police station.

Space has also been made for the criminal justice unit and special rooms set aside for solicitors and Crown Prosecution Service representatives to work alongside officers.

Aside from the stunning views reaching out across the city and the docks, by far the other most impressive element of the station is the state of the art, underground custody centre.

Said to be the finest in the country, it is split into four wings and boasts 36 cells, each with its own skylight, to hold prisoners – providing more than double the current capability at the Civic Centre.

The suite comes with shower blocks and rooms where SmartWater testing can be carried out to identify if a prisoner could be responsible for a crime if they have been sprayed with the ultra violet liquid at a crime scene.

There’s also an exercise yard and specialist dry cells, where prisoners needing forensic testing will be held with no access to washing away evidence, as well as other cells that can be used for people suspected of consuming drugs.

Chief Supt Matthew Greening said: “It’s fantastic for the city that we now have a professional, modern and efficient police station.

“For far too long we have expected officers and staff at the old Civic Centre police station to work in totally inappropriate conditions, not to mention the poor quality of the custody centre, which wasn’t fit for its use by detainees or the staff from different agencies who worked there.

“The new station is great but it’s just a building and it’s the people who work in it and the officers and staff who go out on patrol from it who make the real difference.

“I am delighted we have this new station, not just for us, but for the city as a whole.”

Green Credentials

THE landmark building has great green credentials.

It incorporates a chilled beam system that delivers chilled fresh air from the outside, rather than relying on electric powered air conditioning.

Bigger windows have been put in on the north side to make maximum use of light – but not heat if the sun shines in through the south side.

The glass also contains material to reduce the amount of reflective heat generated from the sun.

There are sensors on the lights, which will turn on and off depending on who is in the building and how much light is coming through the windows.

Smelly Problem Sorted

IT’S a problem that’s long been causing a stink at Southampton’s police headquarters in the Civic Centre.

The old and dated custody block, with its dreary corridor, had one major drawback that was getting up the noses of staff.

The smelly shoes of some of the thousands of prisoners detained there would line the corridor outside each cell – leaving the odour to linger in the air.

Footwear has to be left outside because of the risk of prisoners using them to harm themselves.

Now the problem has finally been resolved. Special shoe storage boxes have been built into the walls outside each cell door, complete with their own ventilation system ensuring an end to the nasty whiffs.

Staff have their say

ALL Staff were encouraged to have a say on how the interior should look.

They voted in their droves for the colour scheme – choosing orange chairs over other shades like green, grey and blue for “breakout areas” and the colour of some interior walls.

The meeting rooms still need to be named and inspiration may be taken from other ionic city buildings, historic characters and even famous links to the city, like Titanic and the QE2.

• See tomorrow’s Review section in the Daily Echo for a four-page special looking at Southampton’s police down the ages, featuring pictures from our archives.