DALLAS, TX - On Thursday morning, September 3, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) broke ground on a long-awaited police training center at the University of North Texas at Dallas.
City leaders and DPD officials participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking for a project that has been decades in the making. The new facility is planned for open land next to UNT Dallas off Camp Wisdom Road, NBC5 reported. Supporters of the project say the new center will modernize officer training and replace aging facilities that have been used for nearly 40 years.
This is the first visible step toward construction of the 20-acre campus in southern Dallas designed to train future recruits and provide continuing education for current officers.
The project has been discussed for years and comes as police leaders continue to push for upgraded facilities, arguing that the department's current training center has fallen far behind those of other major cities.
"When I was doing research about coming to the Dallas Police Department, I noticed back in May of 1987 it was in the paper about the Dallas Police Department getting a new academy," Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said. "That's when I graduated high school, actually. And we still don't have a new academy."
DPD's current training academy operates out of a warehouse that the city leased as a temporary facility in 1990. "When I went to the firing range, I could not believe we were at the firing range. The building's falling down, and this is where an elite police department is training right now. I was shocked that Dallas had facilities that bad," Comeaux said.
The chief said aging facilities can make it more difficult to attract recruits and provide officers with the best possible training. "We're doing really good in recruiting right now, but at some point we're going to hit a wall when people see the facilities," he said. "It's kind of a downer."
The new Dallas Police Department Law Enforcement Training Center is expected to include a basic academy, an in-service training academy, a physical training pavilion and a criminal justice center. City officials say the facility will help position Dallas as a leader in law enforcement training while strengthening partnerships between the city, the department and UNT Dallas.
Despite Thursday's milestone, significant funding challenges remain. The training center is expected to cost about $227 million. Dallas voters approved $50 million in bond funding for the project in 2024, but city leaders say additional funding will be needed to complete construction.
"Well, it's hard to build something in 2026 at $50 million that's gonna be state of the art," said Comeaux, who said he hopes voters don't turn down the measure. "I'd be extremely disappointed, especially when it comes to the police department for the facilities. I mean, this is something that's needed."
The chief has also been outspoken about the condition of the department's existing training infrastructure, including its firing range.
In addition to public funding, the city is exploring private investment opportunities for the training center. Dallas officials recently began marketing naming-rights opportunities for portions of the academy, including the physical training pavilion and other training facilities.
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