People in Nuneaton will be able to visit their new police station 24 hours a day when the sector police station moves to the new Justice Centre in Vicarage Street, later this month.

The new sector police station is set to open its doors and become fully operational on Wednesday December 15.

From that date the public enquiry desk at Nuneaton will be staffed 24 hours a day for those wishing to report crime, present papers, find out information about police initiatives, ask advice about crime prevention, or any of the many other functions undertaken by the front office enquiry officers.

Police officers and police staff working at the "old" Nuneaton Police Station in Nuneaton will begin transferring to the new offices within the Justice Centre in Vicarage Street on Wednesday 15th December.

Meanwhile other changes are already underway, with other areas of police work already being transferred to the new building.

The Custody Suite, previously located at Bedworth Police Station, is already in the process of being transferred to the new centre. The new cell block, which features 32 cells, some with hi-tech facilities for monitoring life signs for vulnerable prisoners, will become fully operational by Thursday 2 December. Once open the new Justice Centre Custody Suite will accommodate police prisoners from Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire, as well as prisoners for the courts.

As a result of the transfer of the Custody Block to the Justice Centre in Nuneaton, Bedworth Police Station Front Enquiry Office will no longer be open 24 hours a day, but will operate during core hours between 8am and 6pm Monday - Friday. The Front Enquiry Office at Bedworth Police Station will no longer be open at weekends. The changes take effect from Wednesday 1 December.

Chief Inspector Neil Hewison, District Commander for Nuneaton and Bedworth explained, "Previously the Enquiry Desk at Bedworth operated in conjunction with the Custody Suite, providing a 24 hour facility to deal with the many professional visitors, such as solicitors, health workers, doctors and probation workers who attended the police station in association with the prisoners.

“For members of the public this meant they too could visit the police station 24 hours a day, but in reality the majority of visitors to Bedworth Police Station during the evenings and throughout the night were professional visitors attending the Custody Suite, with only a few members of the public attending outside of our core opening hours.”

Chief Inspector Hewison went on to say, “We are simply transferring the 24 hour facility from Bedworth to Nuneaton, where the new Custody Suite is located. This makes sense because Nuneaton is the busiest town in the Northern Area, and until now had a police station which was only open during office hours.”

For people wishing to report crime, or visit the police station for other reasons, the Front Enquiry Office at Bedworth Police Station will be open as usual between 8am - 6pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of those hours people are being asked to visit the new Sector Station within the Justice Centre at Nuneaton or to contact the police by telephone. A free telephone contacting callers directly to Warwickshire Police Communications Centre is located on the wall outside the front door at Bedworth Police Station.

Bedworth Police Station will remain a fully operational police station, with police officers based at the station 24-hours-a-day and available to attend incidents in the Bedworth area.

The Enquiry Desk at the “old” Police Station in Nuneaton will also continue to open from 8am - 6pm Monday - Friday until Wednesday 15th December when ther building will close to the public for good and all functions will transfer to the new Sector Station within the Justice Centre.

Members of the public wishing to visit a police station up until 15 December are advised to attend either Nuneaton or Bedworth Police Stations between 8am - 6pm. Alternatively they can contact the police by telephoning 01926 415000.