Custody areas in some courthouses in Northern Ireland are not fit for purpose, a new report has found.
The report by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) identified that while there had been significant investment by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) to fund modernisation programmes, some issues were impossible to rectify within the existing courthouse buildings, some of which are centuries old.
Chief Inspector of CJI Jacqui Durkin said: "This inspection found while some courthouses provide suitable layouts, with sufficient cells of a reasonable size and were in a good state of repair, others suffered a range of problems experienced by detainees relating to temperature, lack of natural light or ventilation, a lack of running water, cramped conditions and insufficient space to have separate areas for booking-in detainees, storage, office space and staff facilities.
