Area police departments look at making improvements to facilities

As the Perryville, Mo., Police Department nears the six-month mark in its new $1.5 million headquarters, other police agencies in Southeast Missouri are looking at expansions, repairs or general facelifts to existing facilities.

The department headquarters in Perryville, formerly housed in city hall, is at 120 N. Jackson St. and features a 40-seat training room and state-of-the-art communications stations, said Perryville police chief Keith Tarillion.

Some minor painting and drywall work still needs to be done, but police were able to move into the facility in early January, Tarillion said.

"It's a lot more space than we had before," Tarillion said.

The department eventually plans to use the new training room for community classes, such as how to protect against identity theft.

Cpl. Brad Pitts works in the new traffic division office that he shares with one other officer in the new Perryville police station. Pitts said the traffic division did not have an office in the last building. (Elizabeth Dodd)

The new building houses three times the number of offices for the 20-plus member department, allowing investigations and traffic units to have separate offices.

When the Cape Girardeau Police Department ran into space issues in housing 76 officers and 18 other employees last year, it considered several different options, Captain Jack Wimp said.

"Our eight traffic guys were working out of a closet," Wimp said.

The Cape Girardeau headquarters at 40 S. Sprigg St. was already filled to capacity shortly after its construction in 1976, and for several years the department has been searching for ways to remedy the crowded operations, Wimp said.

Several options were considered, including purchasing nearby homes and converting them into offices.

The new Perryville Police station that was finished about three months ago. (Elizabeth Dodd)

"That was just going to cost more money than what we had," Wimp said.

The solution turned out to be an $80,000 mobile home that now houses the drug, sexual assault, traffic and public affairs units, as well as the Safe Communities office.

By 2014, if a public safety sales tax initiative passes, the department plans to expand the main department building on the north side, building into an L-shape, Wimp said.

The project is estimated to cost about $6 million.

The Scott City Police Department has been interested in expanding its jail for some time, but has had to make too many budget cuts for the work to be done in the near future, chief David Leeman said.

Cpl. Brad Pitts works in the new traffic division office that he shares with one other officer in the new Perryville police station. Pitts said the traffic division did not have an office in the last building. (Elizabeth Dodd)

"We're hoping to expand. We'd at least like to get a drunk tank," Leeman said.

The jail lacks a holding cell, or "drunk tank," to isolate intoxicated persons overnight or hold those thought to be suicidal, Leeman said.

Currently, the Scott City jail consists of three cells and can house a maximum of 30 prisoners. As of Friday, there were 18 inmates in the jail.

The Scott City jail handles any spillover population from the Scott County jail, which is expected to contract with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to house federal immigration detainees.

The lack of space for expansion puts restrictions on any future improvements to the jail or police department, Leeman said.

"It's not likely going to happen for a while," he said.

About two weeks ago, Cape Girardeau made some improvements to its holding facilities, making them safer after a man suspected of driving while intoxicated hanged himself last September by tying his own belt to a ceiling grate.

The grates are gone, replaced by smooth ceiling, and the walls have been reinforced with concrete.

The surveillance system has also received an upgrade, giving officers more of an idea of what's happening in the cells, Wimp said.

"We don't want them trying to hurt themselves in there," he said.

The Perry County jail was able to make repairs to the leaky roof last year, but has had to hold off on a number of upgrades to the nearly 20-year-old facility, including surveillance and intercom equipment, Sheriff Gary Schaaf said.

Until the roof repairs, the only protection for the dispatch radio equipment when it rained was a tarp, Schaaf said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

388-3635

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