Brandon police station expansion more than doubles jail cells, but sobering centre still needed: mayor

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Peggy

An $8.6-million expansion to Brandon Police Service’s headquarters that doubles its number of holding cells has now fully opened — but the city still needs a sobering centre for people detained while they’re intoxicated, say both police and the mayor.

Construction of the new addition to the southwestern Manitoba city’s police service headquarters, which adds 17 new detainment cells, began in 2022. Deputy Chief Greg Hebert says he expects to see anywhere from four to 14 people in the cells overnight at any given point.

People can be detained for a variety of reasons, he said.

“Some it’s just simply … a safe place for them to be getting sober and others, you know, are facing charges,” Hebert said.

The new holding cells have been in use since September, with the entire facility, including the attached sallyport — the attached garage where officers can bring in detainees — opening last week.

The old space had seven cells, five of which are still available if overflow is needed.

Police holding cells. — The Brandon Police Service has expanded its detainment facility with $8.6 million in provincial funding. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

An expansion became essential after a long-standing agreement between the police service and Brandon Correctional Centre changed, Hebert said.

In the past, people held under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act — which allows officers to detain someone if they are intoxicated and police fear they are a danger to themselves or others — could be held at the correctional centre.

But that ended when the agreement for direct lockup use was not renewed in April 2020.

The province recognized the city needed a new facility and funded the expansion, he said. All operating funds will come from the City of Brandon.

The expansion adds 4,100 square feet to Brandon’s police headquarters, which opened just over a decade ago.

Alternatives to detention

Hebert says a holding cell is not always the best place for people police come into contact with, but right now, the cells are the only option in Brandon for someone picked up under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act.

A sobering centre would offer another option.

“Somebody who’s intoxicated and is a risk of harm to themselves … they could be somewhere else, where they could be cared for in an environment that would allow them to get sober and get the wrap-around help they need,” Hebert said.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett says while the holding cell expansion is an important part of safety and policing in the city, Brandon still needs to get a sobering centre built.

The city currently hopes to start construction in the summer of 2025 on a sobering centre on the 300 block of 16th Street N. and the city, said Shannon Saltarelli, the City of Brandon’s community housing and wellness co-ordinator.

A woman stands by a window. — Shannon Saltarelli, the City of Brandon’s community housing and wellness co-ordinator, says the city hopes to break ground on a sobering centre by summer 2025. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

The project has had stops and starts since the city got $2 million in unexpected provincial funding in 2021.

Saltarelli said the city is “right-sizing” the sobering centre plan based on available funding, which isn’t enough for a project on the scale the city had hoped for.

That means downsizing the design, without losing the focus on medically and culturally informed care of people, Saltarelli said. The city is also looking for an organization to operate the centre, with funding provided by the province.

Right now, the city is looking at three spaces for people, based on needs and the substances they are using — ranging from a more secure area for people who need to be isolated to a more relaxed area for sleeping or eating.

People would stay at the sobering centre no longer than 24 hours, depending on the situation, she said.

“It’s a diversion away from holding cells and ERs, when it’s more appropriate for someone to go to the sobering centre,” Saltarelli said.

A man sits at a desk looking to the right. — Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett says having a paramedic on site at the new holding cells will help free up officers’ time and ease some pressures on the emergency room. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)

Hebert says facilities like the expanded holding facility and planned sobering centre can help the overall health of the community.

The holding facility has paramedics on site 24/7 who can medically assess people as they come in to ensure they are safe, he said.

Fawcett expects having a paramedic on the team will eliminate a lot of emergency room visits, where police officers may have long waits with a detainee to get a medical assessment before taking them to the station.

“It’s good to keep our community safe,” Fawcett said. “The enhancement of our police force … [and] some of our paramedics is a real upside for everybody in the community.”