WORK has begun on the £1.35m refurbishment a Suffolk police station – which will include a new HQ for Ipswich's crime detection boffins.The top two floors of Halesworth Police Station will become home to the latest forensic science equipment – and be the new venue for the scientific support unit currently based at force headquarters in Martlesham.

WORK has begun on the £1.35m refurbishment a Suffolk police station – which will include a new HQ for Ipswich's crime detection boffins.

The top two floors of Halesworth Police Station will become home to the latest forensic science equipment – and be the new venue for the scientific support unit currently based at force headquarters in Martlesham.

The forces' fingerprint bureau, DNA section, photographic section and chemical laboratory will all move from Ipswich to Halesworth.

Four-storey Halesworth Police Station opened in 1970, and is currently the constabulary's eastern area headquarters.

A total of 51 people work there – and after the scientific support unit is moved and Martlesham-based staff relocated, that figure will increase to 77.

Assistant Chief Officer Jerry Goddard said the development was a positive step forward.

He said: "Everything about the project brings benefits to the force.

"The existing accommodation for scientific support at force headqaurters is no longer suitable.

"Various sections of the unit are on different floors of the building, and the accommodation is simply not spacious enough for the high tech equipment available today – and in the future.

"Halesworth Police Station on the other hand, is a spacious building which is under-used.

"The project will allow us to use Halesworth more effectively, providing scientific support staff with a spacious, fully-integrated unit. It also gives an opportunity to refurbish the entire building, providing existing staff with a more pleasant working environment."