DETROIT — A high-tech, $5.6 million police headquarters for Detroit Public Schools is now open, according to The Associated Press. Part of the district’s $41.7 million “security initiative,” the building allows for video surveillance of the interiors and exteriors of all school district buildings, including closed buildings, AP reported.
The 23,000-square-foot facility houses a 70-officer meeting room, interview rooms, five holding rooms for juveniles and one for adults, kennels for three police dogs, and a workout area, according to AP. It will serve as a command center for the 113-member department.
Police Chief Roderick Grimes said video surveillance and an alarm system will allow the department to respond more efficiently to incidents, AP reported.
Shootings have plagued the district in recent years, the report said.
The facility was paid for as part of the $500.5 million bond issue for capital improvements that voters passed in 2009.
SOURCE:
The Associated Press, “Detroit
Schools opens new police headquarters,” Jan. 20, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, “Schools cutting, but also building,”
Jan. 19, 2010
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