The future of policing and what that will look like was very much to the fore when PSNI Chief Constable, Simon Byrne visited Enniskillen Police Station last Thursday.

It was part of a series of visits to PSNI locations across Northern Ireland to get feedback from those within the organisation on what is working, what is not, and where improvements need to be made.

“Gradually, as we join these visits together, it gives us themes, certainly internally about whether we need to prioritise either new equipment, new ideas, or where we need to get the balance right in terms of where work goes and things like that,” explained the Chief Constable.

The Chief Constable said the PSNI estates are in significant need of modernisation, including Enniskillen Police Station. But with savings to be made, he says there are discussions needed to see where they come from, and the PSNI estate will have to be looked at.

Talking about Enniskillen Police Station, he said: “It’s a fantastic relic of the Napoleonic era, because it’s 200 years old, and it’s sinking.

“So with this, the estate does need renewal and modernisation. And some of the older buildings just aren’t efficient anymore.

“There is always a big discussion about the guardianship feel you get from having a building in a town that’s open. But in truth, the way we’re going, we just can’t afford it.

“And there will have to be conversations in the year ahead even about police station opening hours. Because if our budgetary situation doesn’t change, we’ve got to save £60 million this year. That’s really tough choices.”

And while he said Enniskillen Police Station was “not fit for purpose”, there does not seem to be any plan to close the station down altogether, with a presence to be maintained in the town.

“We will be looking at right across the country, at those buildings and sites where actually is it sensible to come out of, but clearly in a town like this, you would not [not] have a police station.

“We have got an estate strategy, which is a public document, which will sort of lay a route map out. There isn’t like a sort of a code yet to, say, close, modernise and replace anything.

“In an ideal world, you’d want to see how the modernised facilities improve both access to public and working conditions.”

The Chief Constable said that questions need to be asked on how to best use the site at Queen Street, but he knows just how important it is to have a police presence in town.

“So if we ever got to the stage of [the PSNI site] here is sort of put up for reuse and sale, we would want to make sure that as part of that, there was a new-build [station] at the same time, which is not a case of withdrawing from the town.

“It’s just seeing how we could do things better,” he added.