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On Monday, Norfolk’s first Police Investigation Centre (PIC) will be taking its initial detainees. PICs are being heralded as efficient and cost-effective custody facilities for detainee handling and investigations.

The force announced that the new PIC at Aylsham will be brought into action on February 28 and will become one of six centres opening across Norfolk and Suffolk this year.

The centres will allow specialist police officers, staff and investigators to question suspects and hold them in custody under one roof.

Norfolk Constabulary said that the move will bring detainee handling into the 21st century and means detainees will no longer be processed at police stations.

The project is expected to result in substantial performance improvement, reducing the amount of time police officers spend in custody, freeing them up to spend more time policing the streets.

The Two Counties Police Investigation Centres Project is a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project which has seen the procurement of required land, buildings and services for the next 30 years. In 2010, all PFI initiatives were reviewed by the coalition government and PICs were identified as a good example of two forces working together.

Potential capital savings to be achieved by collaboration and the sharing of custody facilities is around £5.5 million as PICs present a far more cost effective and seamless policing service to the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Peter Belson, Head of PFI Projects, Norfolk Constabulary, said: “PICs are the result of a collaborative approach by both constabularies to develop a capital building project that disregards policing boundaries and brings detainee handling into the 21st century.

“Norfolk and Suffolk share the problem of how to provide accommodation to detain people in an environment that complies with legislation and comfortable conditions in a cost-effective manner.

“This project is a valuable investment for the next three decades. The Home Office wants to see police forces cutting bureaucracy, giving officers more time on the frontline and improving efficiency, which this does.”

Each PIC has been designed and built with high levels of thermal insulation and external walls that reduce air leakage. Ground source heat pumps will help to regulate temperatures in the buildings while reducing carbon emissions.

Roof mounted solar panels will also provide 50 per cent of annual hot water demand from solar energy.

Other sustainability measures include water conservation through specification of low water use fittings and energy reduction through use of low energy lighting and equipment.

Chief Inspector Roger Wiltshire added: “Conditions for all of our staff who work in custody will be significantly improved with the PICs contributing significantly to the ethos of putting the customer first and providing excellent local services.

“The PICs will allow our specialist police officers, staff and investigators to question suspects and hold them in custody within a modern building resulting in a far more cost effective and seamless policing service.”

It has been calculated that 51,000 front line officer hours will be saved through the increase in efficiency and through the realignment of resources.