Idaho Falls Police Chief, Bryce Johnson, gave the media a tour of the city’s new state of art police station ahead of today’s ribbon cutting. The new facility was not only built under budget but is quickly becoming a model that other police departments and agencies want to copy. The facility has been a long time in coming with several studies since 2002 finding that having the department crammed into several buildings throughout the city was inadequate.
Chief Johnson said that the new facility gives officers one place for training and operations, shaving hours off of previous daily logistics so they can better serve the community. “We can do a lot more training and we can do it in less time. Where we used to have to bring people from eight different facilities, find time to bring them all to the same spot–that took a day. What used to take a day, we can get done in a few hours now. So, we can do more training spend less time and have more officers out on the road that are better trained.” Improvements in the crime lab, evidence storage facility, training facilities, operations and office space, the gym, ventilation, and having a centralized location will improve IFPD response time, logistics, and employee wellness. All that will increase safety for the people who live and work in Idaho Falls.
[More pictures and videos to come]