After about a week in the space, the Grantsville City Police Department is adjusting to life in the spacious confines of the City’s new $3.6 million justice center.
The 12,947-square-foot-facility houses the City’s justice court and police department, both of which moved out of Grantsville City Hall beginning on Dec. 8. A dedication of the buildling will be held on Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
While the police department was quick to move into the justice center — and out of the cramped confines of City Hall — everything wasn’t quite complete during a tour with Grantsville City Police Chief Jacob Enslen last Thursday. Some evidence needed to be organized, offices and desks were being finalized and some furniture was still on its way.
“We are completely out of the old building,” Enslen said. “…We’re still working out a lot of kinks, but we’ll get there.”
The improvements between the previous police department space and the justice center are immediately apparent.
In the rear of the building, just beyond the secure sally port, is a space with two interview rooms, a bathroom and bench for detainees and a counter for DUI investigations. In the past, the DUI room and interview rooms were the same space, Enslen said.
Moving into the patrol area, officers have personal desks and both sergeants have separate offices. Before, officers would share seating, desk space and computers.
The armory is now contained behind a pair of locked doors, with a workbench to keep officer’s firearms in peak condition.
There’s a separate area for the investigation department, which has empty desks, including one currently occupied by the City’s school resource officer. Two nearby interview rooms have different feels — stark and uncomfortable for suspects, comfortable couches for victims and families.
The empty desks and free space in the building will be used up as the department — and Grantsville City — continue to expand over the coming decades, according to Enslen.
Storage was tighter in the previous building and despite having several new storage closets in the justice center, the department reviewed the items before moving them, Enslen said.
“When we moved out, we were able to kind of go through some of the stuff and throw away a lot of stuff that had been there for decades and just kind of collected dust,” he said.
While general storage has improved, the new justice center also features better security and more space for evidence. Now officers can submit evidence to technicians through two-way lockers, which lock to the outside once the evidence has been submitted.
A locked fridge unit in the bank of evidence lockers will also securely hold and preserve specimens like blood or other bodily fluids.
In addition to improving the space and storage, the new justice center comes with quality of life improvements. Officers now have a separate area to sit down and eat their lunches, with a kitchenette area that opens onto an outdoor patio.
There is a single locker room area with private showers adjacent to the new gym, Enslen said. A gym in the facility replaces a program in which the City would subsidize gym memberships for officers.
Enslen said there are other benefits to the in-house gym, rather than patronizing a local facility.
“When officers work out at the gym, everybody knows we’re officers and we’re extremely vulnerable out there because you can’t carry a weapon while you’re working out,” he said. “This provides a nice, safe, low-key area where officers can get a good workout and not worry about being vulnerable in that sense.”
The new facility is expected to help with retaining officers and recruiting new officers as well, according to Enslen. The chief, who joined the department in March, said the upcoming justice center played a role in his decision.
“The building, knowing that this was coming, helped lure me to the job here,” he said.
The justice center is expected to improve security and organization, give the department space to grow and allow officers to coordinate better on interviews and other objectives, according to Enslen.
“It will allow us to be more professional,” he said. “… Just a lot of things will be much more efficient.”