Willmott Dixon has been selected as the preferred contractor by Thames Valley Police for a state-of-the-art forensics centre in Bicester as part of a wider improvement programme to transform forensic services across the force area.

The purpose-built centre in Bicester will become the main forensics hub for the force, containing laboratories, new digital technologies and dedicated training facilities. The Forensic Improvement Programme will see significant investment over the next three years to transform Thames Valley Police’s forensic services, improving investigations and the outcomes for victims.

“The programme is the result of a review of Thames Valley Police’s forensics services as a whole where we’ve identified the need to modernise facilities and increase capacity. In a world of rapidly advancing technology, ensuring the police stay on the cutting edge of forensics is crucial to keeping the public safe. Whether crimes such as burglaries, sexual offences or digital crimes, the police need to get ahead of the criminals,” said Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber.

Cherwell District Council’s planning committee recently granted planning permission for the new forensic centre on force-owned land near Avonbury Business Park on Howes Lane, subject to the completion of a Section 106 agreement.

This is the latest project for Willmott Dixon in the emergency services sector. Others include creating a new headquarters for Merseyside Police, a learning centre for South Wales Police, a new headquarters for Dorset Police and working with West Yorkshire Police to deliver a new headquarters for the Kirklees district.

Construction of Thames Valley Police’s forensics centre is expected to begin in the summer 2023 and be completed in winter 2024/25, with Atkins also on the team as the appointed multi-disciplinary design consultants.

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