The Pacific Police Department has eased into a portion of its new quarters as the Pacific Hall expansion and renovation project continues.
Five departments currently share the spacious emergency operations room while the workout room is still to be completed. Still, it feels like a lot of room, one officer said.
All departments, once shoe-horned into cramped spaces, made the move into the new offices.
For the first time in the known history of the Pacific department, officers have room to work, but it is not all about the space, according to Police Chief Matt Mansell.
When totally completed, the new offices will be the epitome of safety and efficiency in police department operations, Mansell said.
The public will see the reconstructed government center with the new central entrance with the large word POLICE above the door.
Public access to the department is made up a flight of stairs flanked by a handicap accessible ramp on the left and a sidewalk on the right.
Access begins in an expanded lobby that for the first time has a public restroom. A window on the right side from the entry offers access to the department records clerk. On the left side from the entry, a bullet-resistant wall and bulletproof window protect the dispatch crew.
There is bulletproof glass throughout the new building.
All doors respond to the touch of a security card issued to each member of the department. When the door opens, a computer logs the time of the entry and the individual who entered.
The dispatch officers have a large, totally secure work room, wired to connect dispatchers to all departments through a bank of computers.
For the first time, Assistant Chief Larry Cook will have an office to himself.
The only room in the redesigned department that has an outside window is that of Chief Mansell.
For now, half a dozen departments share the large emergency operations (EOC) room, including the patrol sergeant, booking area, detective bureau, school resource officer and code enforcement.
When reconstruction of the old department is completed, the large room, already wired with the proper computer jacks, will be set up for the EOC. When called, the major case squad also will use the room.
The new facility is about three times larger than the former police department. When totally completed there will be a drive-in sally port for driving a suspect into the department safely, a special security system between the booking area and a public area where family members can visit individuals in jail.
“I hope the public will come to admire this modern and professional police headquarters,” Mansell said. “I’m very proud of it.”
