Whittier Dedicates New Police Facility

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

Date: October 19, 2010
Contact: Press Information Officer Mike Dekowski
Subject: Whittier Dedicates New Police Facility


Whittier, CA - The culmination of a major City construction effort will be achieved when the new Whittier Police Station, 13200 Penn Street, will be dedicated on Tuesday, October 26th 2010.

A formal grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting, with the Whittier City Council and other local dignitaries, will be held at 10 a.m. October 26th 2010, and the public is invited to attend. Following the event, public tours of the new facility will be held until 12pm.

After the Whittier Police staff moves into the new station, it will be officially open for business on Wednesday, November 3rd 2010.

On Saturday, October 30th 2010, the Whittier Civic Center will be the site of two community events. Additional public tours of the new Station will be held from 10 a.m. to 12pm that day.

The second event will be the first annual “Fit for Life” 5K Run/Walk and Children’s Half-Mile Dash, sponsored by the Whittier Community Foundation, a non-profit group which raises funds year round for projects and programs to benefit the community. This year, the Foundation is spearheading the fundraising for the Whittier Police Memorial, a privately-funded tribute to the police force, which upon its completion will be placed at the entrance to the new Police Station. For information on this event, contact the Community Services Department at 562-464-3360 or www.cityofwhittier.org.

Ground was broken on the 55,000-square-foot facility on December 8, 2008. The cost of the new Police Station is $23,000,000 as part of a $35,000,000 civic center improvement project, which was paid primarily through existing or expected special funds, such as Asset Seizure, Redevelopment, Earthquake Project Area and Public Safety accounts.

“The original 1955 police facility was designed for 20 sworn and civilian staff.” said Whittier Mayor Greg Nordbak. “As Whittier has grown, so has our police staff. We now have 124 sworn officers, 79 civilian and 28 volunteers. In addition to providing much needed space, the new building has an upgraded 911 system with the latest technological advances so we can serve the public in a more efficient manner.”

“In addition to the problems of accommodating a much larger staff than the building was originally designed for, the overcrowding caused difficulties in serving crime victims, maintaining security, storing evidence and property and providing efficient work flow between divisions”, said Mayor Pro Tem Cathy Warner.

The new Station is located on the southeast corner of Penn Street and Washington Avenue, adjacent to Whittier City Hall. The architecture was specially designed to blend with the City Halls 1950’s Modern style.

“The new Police Station will offer sufficient space for us to efficiently serve our residents,” Council Member Bob Henderson said, “and will offer improved security for police operations.

“A special facet of the new Police Station will be its citizen-friendly layout,” Council Member Owen Newcomer said. “All of the routine police functions utilized by the public on a day-to-day basis will be located conveniently off the lobby on the first floor.”

These functions will include such items as interview rooms and fingerprint services. There will also be a meeting room seating 30 to 50 depending upon use and set-up, which will not only be used for police functions, but also by the community for such events as Neighborhood Watch meetings, Town Hall meetings and other purposes.

“We are very proud of this new facility, which will improve our police functions and make it more convenient for our residents when they need to visit the station,” Council Member Joe Vinatieri said.

“This new state of the art facility will enhance the police department’s ability to provide quality service to the community,” Chief David Singer said.

Additional media inquiries may be directed to Officer Mike Dekowski at 562-505-6983.

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