Completion of BPS cells delayed to September
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/05/2024 (844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
New detention cells at Brandon’s police station are now expected to open sometime after June — almost a year after the original timeline — with full completion targeted for September.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the province terminated the remand agreements it had with police services that allowed for detainees to be lodged at provincial correctional centres.
That required police services to house their own prisoners while they wait to appear in court. In Brandon, the existing detention cells at the police station no longer met standards and the former Progressive Conservative government contributed $8.9 million toward the construction of new ones.
For the past couple of years, prisoners have been held in temporary cells as work on the new cells is carried out.
Originally, the permanent cells were supposed to be complete in August 2023, with the final exterior work completed sometime in 2024.
During city budget deliberations in early February, Acting Chief Randy Lewis said the cells were supposed to open by March and a funding extension from the province had been secured so that construction on the sallyport, a secure entryway, could proceed until March 2025 if needed.
In an email to the Sun this week, Brandon Police Service Acting Deputy Chief Greg Hebert said all project elements, including landscaping and sidewalks, are supposed to be finished by September.
When that happens, McTavish Avenue behind the station will finally be reopened to traffic.
The offices and detention areas are expected to be ready for final inspection at the end of June, and will be ready to operate once that is complete, even as the final exterior work is carried out.
“Several factors have contributed to delays in construction progress,” Hebert wrote. “These include labour shortages, unforeseen site conditions, and long lead times for specialized equipment.”
Despite the delay, Hebert said the project remains within the budget and is projected to be under budget when everything is wrapped up.
As for the temporary cells, Hebert said they will become property of the province and deployed for the use of other police agencies.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
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