DALLAS, TX - Police recruits for the Dallas Police Department (DPD) have spent the last three decades training in a warehouse that was meant to be temporary, and now, a $443 million bond package could help fund a new academy and outdoor training complex, if approved by voters.
The proposed academy and training center would be housed at the University of North Texas at Dallas. If approved by voters, five public safety facilities would get new funding with about $82 million going to the academy and another $149 million for the outdoor training complex at the Dallas Executive Airport, Officer.com reported.
Supporters and the city's largest police and fire pension associations want voters to approve the projects, saying this is the city's chance to upgrade several deteriorating facilities. Opponents of the proposal, however, believe the money from the bond will be used to abandon the I.M. Pei-designed City Hall.
Instead, they want Dallas voters to reject the November bond package and are pushing for a May election with the police academy as the sole item to consider.
The police officers have been waiting to get out of the temporary training space for decades. Assistant Chief Israel Herrera remembers when the building had a reception desk back in 1996. Now, the lobby is a makeshift office packed with cubicles. Police hope the new facilities will help match the growing staffing numbers for the next couple decades.
There are currently about 3,400 officers making up the police force, and the city is budgeting for hundreds more by October 2027. The department is not "asking for anything fancy," said Deputy Chief Stephen Williams, who oversees internal affairs and training standards.
In the current space, instructors and officers have found a method to the madness, but instructors struggle to schedule key technical courses and are making do with the equipment they have. Officers brought wood from a home improvement store a few years back to build their own reality-based training rooms in a warehouse for in-service training.
For recruits, that training requires doubling up classrooms and using gym mats to create fake walls. The proposed bond package includes money for the new police academy and for a separate training complex.
The Law Enforcement Training Center includes two classroom buildings and a 94,000-square-foot training building. The construction cost is $277 million. Voters approved $50 million in the 2024 bond. The project received $25 million from the state and $70 million from private donors.
The Public Safety Training Complex includes a new 60-acre outdoor facility, which includes a vehicle driving course, an obstacle course and a firearm range. Its estimated cost is $170 million. The city is using $15 million from the aviation department's budget and has secured $6 million in sponsorships.
The proposed academy and training center would be housed at the University of North Texas at Dallas. If approved by voters, five public safety facilities would get new funding with about $82 million going to the academy and another $149 million for the outdoor training complex at the Dallas Executive Airport, Officer.com reported.
Supporters and the city's largest police and fire pension associations want voters to approve the projects, saying this is the city's chance to upgrade several deteriorating facilities. Opponents of the proposal, however, believe the money from the bond will be used to abandon the I.M. Pei-designed City Hall.
Instead, they want Dallas voters to reject the November bond package and are pushing for a May election with the police academy as the sole item to consider.
The police officers have been waiting to get out of the temporary training space for decades. Assistant Chief Israel Herrera remembers when the building had a reception desk back in 1996. Now, the lobby is a makeshift office packed with cubicles. Police hope the new facilities will help match the growing staffing numbers for the next couple decades.
There are currently about 3,400 officers making up the police force, and the city is budgeting for hundreds more by October 2027. The department is not "asking for anything fancy," said Deputy Chief Stephen Williams, who oversees internal affairs and training standards.
In the current space, instructors and officers have found a method to the madness, but instructors struggle to schedule key technical courses and are making do with the equipment they have. Officers brought wood from a home improvement store a few years back to build their own reality-based training rooms in a warehouse for in-service training.
For recruits, that training requires doubling up classrooms and using gym mats to create fake walls. The proposed bond package includes money for the new police academy and for a separate training complex.
The Law Enforcement Training Center includes two classroom buildings and a 94,000-square-foot training building. The construction cost is $277 million. Voters approved $50 million in the 2024 bond. The project received $25 million from the state and $70 million from private donors.
The Public Safety Training Complex includes a new 60-acre outdoor facility, which includes a vehicle driving course, an obstacle course and a firearm range. Its estimated cost is $170 million. The city is using $15 million from the aviation department's budget and has secured $6 million in sponsorships.
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