MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall has stepped up his push for the construction of a new Inverell Police Station, this week issuing an invitation to Police Minister and Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to visit the 55-year-old station in the coming months.
Mr Marshall met with the Minister in Parliament to brief him on the current cramped and inadequate conditions at the station and issue the invitation to take a walkthrough the station and talk to local officers.
“When the station was built and opened in 1960, Inverell a police force of 14 officers,” Mr Marshall said.
“Today, 55 years later, there are 46 police working in roughly the same space and who are now overflowing from the station into the three nearby police residences.
“It is far from an ideal situation and not conducive to modern, professional policing, which the Inverell community deserves.
“As Inverell continues to grow and develop into a regional centre, police numbers will likely grow but there is not even enough space in the current station for 46 police, let alone any more into the future.”
Mr Marshall said the 24-hour station had only one formal interview room, which meant local detectives and general duties officers couldn’t take statements in a timely manner.
“The evidence holding room is also far too small and there are not enough cells at the station to hold and separate suspects and offenders,” he said.
“The other two communities in the Northern Tablelands with 24-hour police stations – Armidale and Moree – have had new stations built within the last decade, Armidale in 2007 and Moree last year.
“Inverell stands out as a station in need of replacement – it has served the community well for over half a century, but now we need a larger and modern station to meet the community’s policing needs for the next 50 years.”
Mr Marshall said he was expecting a positive reply to his invitation from the Minister and Commissioner.