Groundbreaking set for new campus police station
University and state officials will break ground for a new $12.5 million police station on Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. at 585 East Pleasant St. opposite the Amherst Fire Department’s North Station. The 27,130-square-foot complex will serve as the new home of the 76-member UMass Amherst Police Department.
Speakers at the event include Provost James Staros, Police Chief Johnny C. Whitehead, Rep. Christopher Donelan (D-Orange), and trustees Henry Thomas III and Richard J. Lawton, who is also vice chairman of the UMass Building Authority. Barbara O’Connor, former police chief and current executive director of public safety at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, has also been invited to the ceremony.
The building design includes an inviting structure for visitors and users along with the levels of security required for a police facility. It is designed to operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week, providing all patrol, investigation, specialized and emergency response, as well as crime prevention and educational services on campus. The building is also designed to meet the highest energy efficiency and sustainability standards and is the first campus building to do so.
UMPD currently has 76 employees, including 62 sworn officers, plus 29 police cadets. The department handles 29,800 calls for service each year.
November 12, 2009.
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