600 High Street

Dedham, MA 02026
Phone 781-751-9300
Fax 781-751-9330
!dedham"o#i$e!org
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TOWN OF DEDHAM
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Comments in support of Article 19 at Dedhams Annual Town Meeting on May
19, 201!
The e"isting Dedham #olice facility does not ade$uately ser%e the needs of a
modern police department& The 'uilding was constructed in 19(2& During that
time, the Town employed 0 police officers& All officers at the time were male&
Today, the Dedham police department is authori)ed for (0 police officers& The
e"isting facility was ne%er e$uipped to accommodate this *0+ increase in police
personnel&
,n the mid 1990s, the Town needed to accommodate space needs of its
emergency communication center& The -911 Dispatch Center which supports the
police, fire and am'ulance ser%ice for the town is located in the #olice
Department& The -911 Dispatch Center occupies a large segment of the first
floor of the 'uilding& This includes pu'lic safety radio, telephone and computer
e$uipment along with file ca'inets and wor. areas for up to three dispatchers
who wor. simultaneously in this area& The -911 Dispatch Center itself has
insufficient space and does not pro%ide for 'rea. and rest room areas for the
Centers staff&
The #olice Department has now di%ersified and employs female police officers as
part of its staffing compliment& The e"isting facility was not designed to pro%ide
loc.er room facilities for female officers& The nature of police wor. e"poses
officers to all elements of the weather and other ha)ards& Dou'le shifts are a
part of the /o'& 0n1site shower facilities are needed& 2oc.er space for officers is
inade$uate& 2oc.er areas used for the storage of duty gear is located in the one
male loc.er room& A con%erted .itchen is used as a loc.er room and a wor.
area for super%isors& 3allways and an administrati%e office used 'y Ci%ilian
#ersonnel also house loc.ers& -ach 0fficer, unli.e the time when the 'uilding
was first constructed, is now pro%ided with 'ody armor, rechargea'le flashlights
and two1way radios& The e"isting 'uilding does not e%en pro%ide suita'le
storage space or enough charging receptacles for current e$uipment& There is
insufficient space for modern in%estigati%e methods& 0ne thing is certain, much
has changed in police wor. since 19(2 'ut the 'uilding has not&
The e"isting facility is not fully compliant as it relates to access re$uirements
prescri'ed 'y the Americans with Disa'ilities Act of 1990 and is not wired with a
modern fire alarm system, nor is the 'uilding sprin.lered&
The mission of the Dedham Police Department is to protect and serve the citizens of Dedham through
collaboration, preventative programs and the judicious enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and the by-laws of the Town of Dedham
600 High Street
Dedham, MA 02026
Phone 781-751-9300
Fax 781-751-9330
!dedham"o#i$e!org
M%&HA'( )!
D*'+,-'M.+, &H%'F
.F P.(%&'
TOWN OF DEDHAM
&.MM.+/'A(,H .F MASSA&H0S',,S
111111111111111
D'PA-,M'+, .F P.(%&'
4acility security related to the custody and transportation of prisoners is a %ery
significant concern with the e"isting facility& The sally1port area where %ehicles
stop to deli%er and recei%e prisoners lac.s appropriate security features& This
area is often used 'y ci%ilians as a short cut 'etween 5ashington 6treet and
3igh 6treet& A proper area for prisoner transports would include an area which
allows for complete enclosure so that an officer transporting a prisoner can
secure his7her duty weapon prior to escorting a prisoner into the 'oo.ing or
holding area&
The e"isting 'oo.ing area is a ma/or security ha)ard& The area used for 'oo.ing
prisoners is a hallway area wedged 'etween the front des. that is ad/acent to the
pu'lic lo''y and sally1port e"terior door& #risoners entering and e"iting the
police station pass 'y a ci%ilian administrati%e office and are processed within 1*
feet of the pu'lic lo''y and 28 feet from the rear door& The pro"imity and
%isi'ility of these areas of egress from the 'oo.ing des. could pro%ide a prisoner
with a clear path to try and escape& The current 'oo.ing area is located directly
outside of the /u%enile cell& 6tate law re$uires sight and sound separation
'etween /u%enile and adult prisoners& The e"isting configuration does not allow
for the presence of adult and /u%enile prisoners at the same time& Due to the lac.
of a proper area for prisoner processing, electronic fingerprinting e$uipment is
located in close pro"imity to holding cells designated for females& 9reathaly)er
e$uipment is located in a small room which also ser%es as a report room and
'rea. room for patrol officers as well as an inter%iew area& ,n order to 'ring a
prisoner to the 9reathaly)er e$uipment, the prisoner needs to 'e escorted past
the front des. area and wal. directly past the door to the pu'lic lo''y& 5hile we
are still a'le to pass state inspections of our holding cells, we are often flagged
for potential suicide ris. conditions& A modern holding facility would not include
the features which present these ris. factors&
The lac. of space in general creates ha)ardous life safety conditions and
negati%ely impacts the operations of the #olice Department& The lac. of storage
space results in hallways 'eing used to store items& :These o'structions often
reduce the re$uired egress width and present potentially ha)ardous conditions
for emergency egress and access through the facility as well as potential items to
'e used as weapons 'y detainees&; <2ie' 6tudios Analysis =anuary 80, 201,
performed at the direction of 4acilities Director Taissir Alani>
The facility lac.s ade$uate meeting space& There are no inter%iew or
interrogation rooms& ,nter%iew rooms are needed not only for interacting with
suspects, 'ut also to tal. with %ictims of crime& There is no training room or roll
The mission of the Dedham Police Department is to protect and serve the citizens of Dedham through
collaboration, preventative programs and the judicious enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and the by-laws of the Town of Dedham
600 High Street
Dedham, MA 02026
Phone 781-751-9300
Fax 781-751-9330
!dedham"o#i$e!org
M%&HA'( )!
D*'+,-'M.+, &H%'F
.F P.(%&'
TOWN OF DEDHAM
&.MM.+/'A(,H .F MASSA&H0S',,S
111111111111111
D'PA-,M'+, .F P.(%&'
call room& This limits our a'ility to effecti%ely 'ring training to our 0fficers& 5e
ha%e no indoor firing range& This re$uires all of our li%e fire training to 'e
conducted at an outdoor range in another town&
#ar.ing at the e"isting police facility is inade$uate& #olice %ehicles as well as
other official %ehicles ha%e greater access to sensiti%e areas& These %ehicles
need to 'e par.ed in secure areas& ?one of the e"isting par.ing areas are
secure& :The e"isting conditions do not meet the intent of the @6 Department of
3omeland 6ecurity 2018 ?ational ,nfrastructure #rotection #lan Ato protect
facilities such as law enforcement; <2ie' 6tudios Analysis =anuary 80, 201>
A feasi'ility study conducted 'y Dore and 5hittier Architects during 2009
recommended 'etween 20,000 and 22,000 sf to support the program needs of
the #olice Department& 5ith a small addition, the e"isting Town 3all would allow
for a police facility to 'e designed which would properly support the Dedham
#olice Department and the community for 201 and 'eyond& 5e would 'e a'le
to address all of the shortcomings associated with the e"isting facility relating to
space, Americans with Disa'ilities Act re$uirements, accommodations for female
officers, facility security, holding and 'oo.ing areas, training and community
needs& The current Town 3all would allow for the design of ade$uate par.ing&
Multiple means of egress would 'e a%aila'le& #olice %ehicles would ha%e clear
access to multiple ma/or roadways away from significant intersections& A
campus design would help to further the mutual cooperation and interaction
'etween municipal departments and to 'etter ser%e the Town of Dedham& ,
respectfully re$uest your support for the municipal campus proposed in Article
19&
Mi$hae# d*'ntremont
&hie2 o2 Po#i$e
The mission of the Dedham Police Department is to protect and serve the citizens of Dedham through
collaboration, preventative programs and the judicious enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts and the by-laws of the Town of Dedham