Cardiff Bay Police Station (which replaced Butetown Police Station) is the

South Wales Police South Wales Police (; SWP) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Constabulary, Car ...

Eastern Division area headquarters and custody suite, located on James Street,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales.

Background

Butetown Police Station

Butetown Police Station (on the same site as the new headquarters) was built circa 1968 as a two-storey community police station for

Butetown Butetown (or ''The Docks'', ) is a district and community (Wales), community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marqu ...

, Cardiff. It was a notable location for events surrounding the investigation, arrests, detention and questioning of the suspects following the

murder of Lynette White Lynette Deborah White (5 July 1967 – 14 February 1988) was murdered in Cardiff, Wales. South Wales Police issued a photofit image of a bloodstained, white male seen in the vicinity at the time of the murder but were unable to trace the man. ...

in 1988, which led to the wrongful imprisonment of three Cardiff men. Butetown Police Station was demolished in November 2006 to make way for the new police headquarters.

Cardiff Bay Police Station

Plans were unveiled in 2002 for a replacement for South Wales Police's Eastern Division headquarters in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

. The existing facilities (including only eight police cells) at the division's headquarters in Cathays Park were outdated and unfit for purpose. In August 2006 the

Design and Build A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

contract was awarded to construction firm, Stradform, with architectural and engineering services provided by Capita Symonds. The new police station opened in 2009, providing custody facilities for Cardiff and Barry and divisional headquarters for South Wales Police. An 18m (60 feet) high sculpture of a lighthouse was erected in front of the main steps of the police station at a cost of £75,000, making it the most expensive piece of art paid for by any UK police force in the previous five years.

Facilities

The new police station has 60 custody cells spread across three wings, with access to natural daylight via solar tubes. There are also 11 interview rooms and state-of-the-art recording and security equipment.

References

External links

South Wales Police - Police Stations: Cardiff Bay
{{coord, 51.4648, -3.1703, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 2009 establishments in Wales Police stations in Wales Buildings and structures in Cardiff Crime in Cardiff