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Police cells are ‘mouldy and old’, say inspectors
MOULDY, filthy police cells have dropped to an unacceptable low, a group of independent inspectors have declared.
Custody cells in Kentish Town Police Station are damp, walls and window ledges are covered in thick layers of dust and dirt and one fridge hadn’t been cleaned for three months, according to Camden Independent Custody Visitors (ICV).
Mick Farrant, ICV chairman, told a meeting of Camden Community and Police Consultative Group last week: “We have been concerned over the past two or three months about the physical state of the building and its cleanliness.
“There have been problems with water ingress in the ceilings of a number of cells, resulting in mould growing. Similarly, there has been a sharp drop in cleanliness which has now reached an unacceptable level.”
He added: “Contracts for repairs, maintenance and cleaning are let centrally by the MPS but managed locally. The cleaning contract is about to come to an end; we understand that a new one will start in May. It is not, of course, only detainees who have to endure such conditions, but also the police and civilian staff who work there.”
Mr Farrant also told the meeting the building, on Holmes Road, is more than 100 years old, and called for a purpose-built custody suite.
New custody manager Inspector Matt Foley was unavailable for comment.
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