PLANS to build a new "joined-up justice" headquarters in York for the county's police and prosecution staff are set to be considered by the North Yorkshire Police Authority.
It is proposed to bring together the North Yorkshire Force's two administrative support units, based at Knaresborough and York police stations, with the three Crown Prosecution (CPS) offices, currently based in York, Harrogate and Northallerton. The new central criminal justice/trials unit would be based at Clifton Moor, York.
The leases on the CPS offices in Harrogate and Northallerton are due to expire at the end of this year and the CPS office in Piccadilly, York, is on land due for redevelopment.
The proposed move is designed to "maximise efficiency and eliminate duplications within the prosecution process", says a business case report to Monday's police authority meeting, which will be held in Harrogate.
The proposal will also be in line with the recommendations of the Government's Glidewell report, which calls for chief constables and chief Crown prosecutors to work towards creating a "seamless, joined-up justice" system from detection of the offence to sentence. It would also allow the police to save more than £700,000 from its administration of justice budget.
The police authority will be asked to approve a bid to the Home Office police resources unit to fund the project.
A business case submitted to the meeting outlines three options.
The options are to ask the Home Office for funding to buy land and create a purpose-built centre, to enter into a leasehold arrangement on a purpose-built building or to do nothing. The report says the last option is unlikely to be considered as it does nothing to improve the situation and would not allow police office space, currently occupied by administrative support units, to be freed for other police units.
The police administrative support unit in Scarborough and the town's CPS office are to be co-located into Scarborough police station in January 2003 to serve the Scarborough, Whitby and Pickering courts.
Updated: 12:20 Saturday, September 21, 2002
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