After being homeless for more than a year, Gainesville Police officers now have a solid foundation to work with newer technologies and enhance patrol and surveillance of the city.
The Gainesville Police Department opened the doors to its headquarters building, located at 413 NW Eighth Ave., to the public earlier this month, allowing all to see the two-story, $11-million facility for the first time.
It was paid for through various funds, bonds and contraband forfeiture, which is money seized from criminal activities.
In 2010, the decision was made to move department members out of the old building, scattering them to different locations across town, while renovations were being made.
However, due to weak building structure, continuing the project was impractical. The decision was made to demolish the old building and to construct a more modern headquarter, according to GPD’s website.
The building is outfitted with newer technologies such as key cards and remotes that work in all rooms.
“The technology is simplistic and amazing,” GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said. “It’s a very secure facility.”
Areas in the facility are locked to the public and are only accessible with a key card. Even with a key card, only certain areas can be opened with the area’s respective members. This line of security extends to Police Chief Tony Jones, in that he would need a special key card to get into the evidence room.
Rooms throughout the building are named after key people from the department.
The patrol room, named after Atkins Warren, is dedicated to Gainesville’s first black police chief who instituted key policies and pushed peace between the department and the community. Warren was the chief of GPD from 1980 to 1984.
The chief conference room, also known as the Command Center, is dedicated to GPD’s longest tenured chief, William D. Joiner, who joined the department in 1936. Joiner also instituted official forms for applicants seeking a police officer position in the department. Prior to Joiner, there was no paperwork required for a position in the GPD, according to Smathers Library archives.
However, the department is going through some minor growing pains.
“We experience a few different things like ‘Why is this access panel on the left rather than the right?’,” Tobias said.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 5/13/2014 under the headline "New high-tech GPD building opens"]
