More than £800,000 in savings, thousands of staff hours returned to policing and significant reductions in detainee waiting times have been achieved since the opening of Durham’s pioneering Investigative Hub, a new report has revealed.
Produced on behalf of County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen, the benefits realisation report marks almost two years since the £26.3m facility, featuring one of the most advanced custody suites in the UK, began operating.
The report demonstrates how bringing key policing functions together under one roof is delivering substantial financial savings, reducing bureaucracy and travel time, and freeing officers to spend more time protecting communities.
As the largest single investment ever undertaken by the PCC on behalf of Durham Constabulary, the state-of-the-art facility near Spennymoor welcomed its first detainees in December 2024. Today, it is delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, detainee care and the overall effectiveness of policing across County Durham and Darlington.
Alongside 48 modern custody cells spread across four wings, including a dedicated suite providing enhanced care for vulnerable detainees and children, the hub brings together specialist detective teams, crime scene investigators, evidence stores and the firearms licensing department.
The development has also generated more than £25m in social value, with the majority of work delivered by contractors from Durham and the wider North East, supporting local jobs, skills and economic growth.
The report was presented to the Police and Crime Panel, highlighting a number of key achievements:
- £809,000 in financial savings through the consolidation of services, including £100,000 saved in custody overtime costs
- Children spending two hours less in custody on average, with adults spending 40 minutes less
- Faster booking-in processes, enabling officers to return to frontline duties more quickly
- 15,000 fewer miles travelled and 1,080 staff hours saved annually by investigation teams alone
- A 61% reduction in custody support abstractions, falling from 675 shifts to 263
- Fewer hospital transfers thanks to 24/7 on-site healthcare provision, with only 5.18% of detainees requiring hospital treatment during detention in July 2026
Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “The Investigative Hub is proving exactly why this investment was needed. It is helping officers spend more time fighting crime and less time tied up in administration, travel and delays, while also delivering significant savings for taxpayers.
“These results show that modern, well-designed facilities can transform the way policing operates. The Hub is improving efficiency, supporting better outcomes for detainees, enhancing staff wellbeing and helping to ensure the public receives the high-quality service it deserves.
“I am particularly pleased to see benefits being felt not only within the organisation but also across our communities. This project demonstrates what can be achieved when innovation, partnership and public value are placed at the heart of policing.”
The project also saw Durham Constabulary using a Social Value Toolkit, a pioneering move for a project of this size, helping police suppliers maximise the social and economic benefits their contracts deliver to local communities.
