The main story on the front page of today’s Kansas City Star does a great job outlining the need for renovations here at 1125 Locust St. Our Homicide Unit and other violent crimes detectives work in unacceptably cramped and outdated conditions. Our dedicated Building Operations staff faces a never-ending task in keeping our HVAC and plumbing systems functioning.
But thanks to you, this is all about to change. By the spring of 2014, Police Headquarters will be fully renovated for the first time since it was built in 1938. The project is funded by the Public Safety Sales Tax, which you, the voters, overwhelmingly renewed in 2010. This will benefit not only the police who work here but also victims and witnesses, as the Star points out:
“No longer will witnesses and victims risk crossing paths with suspects before being interviewed. They won’t be forced to sit for hours in stark waiting rooms either. Architects have designed the layout to shelter victims from the accused and give police private places to take their statements.”
Detectives will be able to work on cases much more effectively and efficiently with this set up, and we hope it will contribute to increased victim and witness cooperation.
We will be adding a community meeting room off the first-floor lobby for public use, as well. And the architect is working to restore much of the building’s original Art Deco grandeur.
You might notice work going on around Headquarters, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
