£1.8m crime centre revamp is unveiled

The former emergency communications centre, which includes a new state-of-the-art telephone system, started refurbishment back in January and the modern, ergonomic design has now been unveiled for the first time.

Administrator Maxine Burry was chosen by staff who work in the building to have the honour of cutting the tape alongside Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

Mr Macpherson said: “It’s about having a good response to public calls for assistance and having all our resources in one place.

“It’ll be a good environment for the staff to deal with the pressure of the job and to deal effectively with the public.

“The success of the building will be reflected in our staff absence and health.”

Mr Macpherson invested £1.8m from his capital reserves into the refurbishment of the centre, which now houses more than 200 staff answering emergency 999 calls and 101 non-emergency calls.

Planning for the building was so meticulous that as well as focus groups, staff tried out scale cardboard mock-ups of desks and office furniture in the police’s sports hall prior to the refurbishment to check they would be suitable.

The new building, which is open 24 hours, seven days a week all year round, will expect to receive around 6,000 non-emergency calls a week and approximately 1,400 999 calls.

Deputy head of contact management John Flynn said: “I’m ecstatic.

“It’s been a number of years in the planning and delivering and to see it all coming together now is a massive achievement for the force.”

“The public will probably see little difference because we will still handle 101 and 999 calls exactly the same way.

“What we will achieve is better response and training of our staff.”

As well as a newly-refurbished inside, the building has also had solar panels installed onto the roof.

Despite the £90,000 price tag on the panels, it is expected that they will, with today’s energy prices, pay for themselves in just seven years.