British Transport Police (BTP) have nearly doubled their number of cells in London after building a new block in Holloway.
The new custody suite, in Brewery Road, on the site of a previously empty warehouse, was unveiled last week and has increased the number of cells available to the BTP from 26 to 46.
The new unit is the first of its kind in the country and should cut prisoner processing time down from nine hours to just two-and-a-half.
At the opening, BTP Chief Constable Andrew Trotter said: “This is an important project for us and I’m delighted to be here today to open this facility. “To serve and protect those who travel and work on the rail system, we need the tools to do the job efficiently, and this new custody suite provides us with some of the most modern facilities in the country.”
Last year, the BTP were involved with 18,000 arrests across London.
They hope the new cells will help them deal with the expected 55 per cent increase in prisoners.
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