Northamptonshire Police Estates Strategy

Northamptonshire’s policing estate has seen a lack of investment in the estate over the last 25 years however and will now require changes in terms of locations, functions and design to ensure it can support the delivery of effective policing across Northamptonshire.

The nature and type of threats continue to change and evolve, therefore our estate must allow our emergency services and partners to meet both current and also evolving threats. Technology and legislation have been fundamental factors in the changing nature of both crime and fire prevention along with the required response.

There is an increasing trend of online and technology enabled crime, which is not challenged by our current estate. Mobile technology for police officers and staff is improving and will allow for less reliance on fixed locations to perform their duties and complete essential administration. Additionally, the footfall within existing front counters is small and continuing to decrease.

It is important that our estate is able to accommodate the various functions which are specific to the delivery of emergency service requirements. Some of these include custody, control rooms, archive and exhibits storage, IT data centres, covert premises and police dog kennels.

In practical terms, our Estates Strategy sets out the framework for managing our buildings portfolio until 2040. It is written as a guide to future strategic property decisions to ensure we are able to manage our property portfolio, in conjunction with our internal colleagues, in an effective manner. Through it, the Estates Service will support the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan, the Fire and Rescue Plan and the ambitions of Northamptonshire Police and our Fire and Rescue Service. To achieve this, the challenge is to adapt the estate to fit with a changing organisation and provide effective operational policing and support bases.

The strategy will be reviewed at least annually to ensure the context, political direction and operational requirements remain valid. An intention of the Estates Strategy is to reinforce a robust culture of estate planning, maintenance and provision.

A copy of the plan can be downloaded here