Conn. Police Chief: New HQ 'Instills a Feeling of Professionalism' for Officers

The building was formally a 44,400-square-foot, one-story office structure built in 1978, last used as a call center by 3M Health Information Systems. This contrasts against the far more compact armory building, built in 1920, which the department had used since the 1980's. Its older design proved difficult to work around, much less accommodate the needs of a modern, growing police department.

"The most important thing is that it gives people privacy, but it also instills a feeling of professionalism. It's a professional building, and the offices and the layout of the building is set up that way to make it feel more like a professional environment where you can operate and work," Ventura said. "You didn't have an area where you could bring other departments in to run different events because you just didn't have the capability to do it. The building wouldn't allow you to do it, and there's nowhere to go. We legitimately converted closets to offices because we just were running out of room."

There is a vast array of new amenities at the police headquarters, from a large training room that can be used to host courses available to the public, with a collapsible wall that connects to the adjoining Emergency Operations Center, a new addition where the department can set up a response with full dispatch control in case of a critical emergency.

Sergeants now have their own office space, alongside every other major unit like Community Impact and Investigative Units. This is on top of having new dedicated spaces for lineup and lunch, which were previously shared in the same space.

Many new comforts have also been provided for the officers, including a quiet room where officers can take a personal call or take a moment to unwind if they're stressed. Along with that are two different bunk and relaxation rooms for male and female officers where they can sleep when pulling long shifts or remaining at the station during weather events. Ventura said that, previously, some officers had taken to sleeping under desks during lengthy shifts — this facility offered a greater sense of comfort.

At the center of the complex is a new, expanded gym with numerous treadmills, weights, and other workout equipment that was all donated by the Police Benevolent Association. Additionally, the new police station is one of the few in the state to have its own dedicated firing range,

Outside of general comforts, there's also numerous features that enhance the safety of the building. Among them is the parking lot, which is now separated between public and police parking via a gate that only those with police ID's can cross. Before, because of the limitations of the space, the police parking was easily accessible to the public driving by.

"When our officers were going to roll call in the morning and then coming out and checking their duty bags and their cars, people could drive right through our lots while the officers were checking their equipment and doing that stuff. Very dangerous. Not a good plan, right? But there was nothing we could do about it based on our environment. We separated that this time," said Deputy Chief Anthony DeMaio.

Before, not even all the cars could fit into the lot and had to park out in the dirt. Now, with 9 acres of space on the property, there is enough room to store all the department vehicles beneath a sheltered cover that allows them to walk to and from the building without getting rained or snowed on.

Around the back of the building is the sally port and intake for arrested individuals, all with secured new iron-glass cell doors, separated for men and women, largely separated from the remainder of the complex. People who are released from the detainment area also have a separate exit that connects to the rear pedestrian parking area.

This is much different from the previous configuration, officials said, as if someone was released they'd have to walk through the entirety of the station in order to exit, which naturally posed a safety hazard. Along with that, the older cells also were made of iron barred doors, which have largely been phased out of detainment facilities. The new layout is designed to be safer for both officers and detainees.

Additionally, there is a vestibule for visitors at the front of the station that wasn't part of the previous building. Previously there always had to have someone posted at the desk if someone came in after hours due to building layout. Now there is a locked vestibule with a drug take-back box, seats, a water filter, bathroom, and direct intercom that links to dispatch if someone needs assistance outside general office hours and needs help.

Though no longer centrally located in downtown Wallingford, officials say that the new location is more advantageous to the needs of the department currently, with close proximity to Routes 5 and 68, the two major roadways through town.

"I think that you have to really look at the town and where you address a lot of your issues. So when that building was incorporated back in the eighties, you had a lot of your call volume in that center of town area," said Ventura. "But as you look at us now, it's not accurate. So that everything also works off of Route 68. So Tractor Supply, Walmart, ShopRite, Kohl's, all those areas that we go to all day long, it's now easily accessible."

The overall renovation and relocation cost around $34 million, which the town paid for with bonded money rather than grant funds. Despite the expense, Ventura and DeMaio both wished to thank the residents for allowing them the chance to move into the station and that they should expect to see meaningful change in their safety going forward.

Both officers, who have served on the force since 2002 and 1995 respectively, said they only knew the previous station their entire careers, both what it could and couldn't do. With the new facility they said it'd allow them both to be flexible and modern, but increase morale as they continue to be safety leaders in the state.

"I just think that we as the agency, speaking just very simply, want to say thank you. Because, you know, we've spent our entire careers in the other building and we saw what it can do and what it couldn't do. So I think that in seeing what this building can do, like really what we can say is thank you for giving us the opportunity to move in here and having this building, because it definitely has made a difference in a lot of ways," Ventura said.

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