The £65m crime campus which will bring together on one site the key law enforcement agencies is on track for occupation in late 2011.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill yesterday visited the site at Gartcosh to signal the Scottish Government's commitment to the national crime busting campus.

The Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh is a major construction project that will house Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Service (Glasgow), Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service, HM Revenue & Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency under one roof.

Kenny MacAskill said: "The Scottish Government is fully committed to the creation of a crime campus to lead the fight against serious organised crime in Scotland. The work is underway and I expect the campus to be operational by late 2011.


He said bringing together key staff under one roof will help them work together more effectively in purpose-built facilities with the latest state-of-the-art technology.

"This sends out a strong message to the criminal gangs that we will use every means at our disposal to protect our communities from the threat they pose."

The strategic aim of the project is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of partner organisations in combating crime and supporting other organisations to do so. Key project aims focus on building a new facility that will enable the stakeholder agencies to maximise their combined operational effectiveness and efficiency and which demonstrates value for money in terms of quality, cost and time.

The budget for the Crime Campus is £65m. Current cost estimates indicate that the project should be delivered within that overall budget.

Detailed ground investigation surveys have revealed that there are substantial underground obstructions and foundations remaining from the steelworks that were previously located on the site.

This package of work has been competitively tendered in the open market and DCT Civil Engineering Ltd was awarded the contract and started work on site on March 23, 2009. The contract involves removing obstructions both within and around the area of the building and crushing then recycling the materials for reuse later on in the construction process. Once the enabling works are complete this will enable the main contractor to make a quicker start on the construction works.

(GK/KMcA)