One of Dublin’s major Garda Stations has been fitted out with new cell doors incorporating UK lock manufacturer Pickersgill-Kaye Ltd’s products as part of modernisation and to improve health and safety in Republic of Ireland police cells.
The cell lock and custodial hatch met the Irish government’s Office of Public Works (OPW) requirements when it decided to upgrade police cells after representations by senior officers of the Garda Siochana. This is in response to detainee injuries and some deaths due to prisoners self-harming while in custody cells.
Of the most recent cases of suicide and attempted suicide recorded in Garda custody, most victims had died or self-harmed through asphyxiation after managing to find ligature points on old-style heating grills, lights, door hatches and cell door locks. These incidents were causing not only distress to prisoners’ families but also costing Irish taxpayers in compensation claims due to the standard of the cells, some built up to 80 years ago, which were deemed to be a contributing factor in the detainees’ deaths.
Blackrock Garda station was built in 1995 and the custodial suite required upgrading works to comply with current standards. The Dublin station’s five cells have now had new custodial cell doors installed by Irish manufacturer Oliver Boland Engineering Ltd, using Pickersgill-Kaye’s Custodial Inspection Hatch and ligature resistant external eight-lever Kaye Class 1 Custodial Cell Lock.
Project-managed by OPW with the assistance of Garda officers, the refurbished cells at Blackrock also include new design flooring, anti-tamper lighting and cell buttons.
Because of the traffic that pass through the cells at Blackrock – particularly at weekends – such as revellers, shoplifters and more serious criminals, the lock needed to be robust to cope with the amount of use and abuse they receive.
The Kaye Class 1 lock, strike plate and custodial hatch supplied by Pickersgill-Kaye meet the OPW and Garda’s Professional Standards Unit’s (PSU) design criteria for the refitted cells by addressing the architectural issues of the old style doors and mitigating against potential ligature points.
Kaye Class 1 is a heavy duty lock which can fit most standard cell doors. It has been installed by door manufacturers at custodial facilities for authorities in the UK, including the Metropolitan Police, Cleveland, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire Police and Two Counties. a hostile environment.
Tested to 300,000 handle operations and door slams and 100,000 key operations, the lock is also resistant to a 12-hour saw attack, as well as a side load on the deadbolt of 25kN and to an end load on the deadbolt of 25kN. The SS317 standard also means it is now necessary to prove that attacking the handle does not prevent unlocking and use of the wrong key does not stop subsequent unlocking with the authorised key.
Like Blackrock many other Garda Stations are being modernised with Pickersgill-Kaye’s hatch and cell door lock, mitigating the risk for prisoners to self-harm.
