Concerns about working conditions at Hamilton Police Station have been voiced repeatedly since it was first listed as a condemned building 32 years ago.

Officers moved into the building on Parliament Street in the 1970s but the facility was only supposed to be a temporary home.

In 1978, UK officials from the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary condemned the station for containing hazards that put officers at risk of serious injury. The Inspectorate made similar comments again in 2006.

In 1994, Police Commissioner Lennett Edwards condemned Hamilton station as unfit for officers to work in.

Mr. Edwards described the building as "the pits" and told reporters: "If you had to walk in there, you would probably walk out. I applaud the men and women who go there."

He said the station had been "inadequate" for 14 or 15 years.

The Mid-Ocean News reported in 2007 an assessment by Bermuda Water Consultants had discovered high counts of mould throughout the premises. A report the company prepared for the Bermuda Police Service highlighted a number of problems encouraging the spread of mould, including water damage throughout the property, exposed ceilings in office spaces and bathrooms, a heavy build-up of dust and mould on blinds, improperly-fitted air conditioning units and condensation dripping from vents onto the floor.

According to technicians, "significant external structural cracks" caused severe leakage throughout the structure which allowed a build-up of surface moulds. They also highlighted concerns over poor ventilation.

In 2008, the same newspaper reported that the founder of an American organisation created to eradicate mould in public buildings had called for the immediate closure of the station.

According to Susan Brinchman, founder of the California-based Center for School Mold Help, even a few minutes spent in the conditions described at the Parliament Street facility could lead to lifelong illness or death.

"This is no different than a burning building," she insisted. "You don't wait for the next building to be built if you're in a burning building. I recommend they refuse to go back into the building as it's possibly killing people. A day, an hour, ten minutes in a building like that is too much. It's not something to be fooled around with."

Plans for a replacement station were first announced by Finance Minister Eugene Cox in the PLP Government's first budget in February 1999. He estimated that the cost of the new building would be $25 million.

Ground was eventually broken in late 2007, but the cost of the project has now spiralled to $91 million, and the building has yet to be completed. The new premises on the corner of Church and Court Street is now set to be ready early next year, according to Minister Derrick Burgess, speaking in December 2009.

A request for an update on the project yesterday did not elicit a response.

Hamilton Police Station is not the only location to have suffered problems.

In 2003, Minister for Labour and Home Affairs Terry Lister assured Police that damp and mouldy offices at Prospect in Devonshire were being dealt with as a matter of urgency.

His comments followed concerns raised by detectives in the Intelligence Department that excessive levels of fungus and spores were found in the carpet during tests by Bermuda Water Consultants. More than a dozen officers refused to enter the premises until a clean-up had been done. A similar problem occurred in another office on the same site in 2002.

Meanwhile St. George's Police Station closed down in January 2007 due to the need for extensive renovations. The building, which dates back to 1912, was infested with cockroaches and termites and did not reopen until April 2009.

Also in 2007, the forensic offices at Southside Police Station had to be shut due to mould. A drug-smuggling trial at Supreme Court in 2008 heard that three boxes held as evidence there in 2006 were destroyed by the mould.