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police pack for new building Making the big move

St. Cloud Times (Minnesota)
November 8, 2009 Sunday

BYLINE: Kari Petrie,

St. Cloud, MN

Yellow tubs are piled up around St. Cloud Police Department, waiting to be filled and taken to their new home.

The department may only be moving three blocks to its new headquarters, but intricate plans have been made to move equipment and property. While other local government agencies have moved into new buildings in the past two years, moving a police department requires a higher level of security.

Among the stacks of files and office supplies are thousands of pieces of evidence, including drugs and guns, and sensitive laboratory equipment. All require special handling.

"Every time you turn around there's something new to think of," department support division supervisor Janelle Thompson said. She is organizing the department's move that will happen during two days in early December.

The main move will take three semis, 11 movers in each building and four installers. The move will take place over 14 hours.

Relocating the contents of the evidence room will take three semis, two supervisors, four installers and seven movers in each building. It is expected to take 12 hours.

The final price is still being determined, but Assistant Police Chief Sue Stawarski said it is expected to be about $30,000.

Moving evidence

Strict laws govern how evidence can be handled, and who had access to evidence can become an issue during trials, so special precautions must be taken. All the evidence in the property room has to be moved separately and under security.

If evidence isn't properly handled, defense attorneys could argue that it was tampered with or otherwise changed during the move.

Four rooms of property must be packed up and moved, and staff has to keep track of each piece. In 2008 alone the department processed 13,900 pieces of evidence, according to the department's annual report. That included 45 firearms, $57,000 in cash and 650 cases in which drugs were seized.

The items will be packed up in tubs, which will be tagged before being covered in black shrink wrap. That way, the movers can't see what's inside. Stawarski said the department could not find a moving company that would pack firearms or drugs, so staff must do that.

The tubs will be put into a truck that will be locked and sealed. A department staff member will be with it the entire
time.

Organizing the move

Keeping track of all the other items, from files to office supplies to equipment, takes a great deal of organization.

And all those items will be brought into a much larger facility.

Thompson has come up with a system to help movers know where all those boxes go. Each floor in the new building is color-coded: red, yellow or green like a traffic light. Red is the top floor, yellow is the main floor and green is the bottom floor.

Items will be packed in tote boxes that are tied with security ties. The boxes and ties have coordinating numbers so if anything is tampered with, it's easy to identify.

Expensive lab equipment has to be moved by the equipment vendors to prevent damage.

Some furniture will be moved, with tables and chairs making the move to fill several offices. There wasn't enough money in the budget to furnish those offices, and they aren't going to be occupied immediately because they are meant to accommodate growth. Meanwhile, staff can use them as conference rooms.

Furniture that the department isn't taking along to its new headquarters will be available to other city departments.

Desks, filing cabinets and cork boards are among the things that will be up for grabs. Other city departments have shown a lot of interest in snapping up the available equipment.

It makes more sense to let other departments have the furniture than try to sell it, Stawarski said. Much of it is decades old and a desk could go for as little as a quarter, she said.

Knowing when to pack up everything also has to be carefully thought through. Some items are being packed early.

Reserve officers don't need all of their equipment immediately, so that is already packed. Evidence that will be needed in the next month for court has been flagged so it doesn't get packed up.

While all the chaos of the move is going on, Stawarski said the department has to remain focused on its goal to provide service and solve crimes. The department can't shut down to move.

Stawarski is still determining how the move will affect day-to-day work at the department. Officers who meet before their shift in the old building could end their shift at the new building.

"Our goal is to make the transition as seamless as possible for the patrol officers," Stawarski said.

New systems

Organizers say the physical move is under control. But part of getting into the new building is learning the dozens of new procedures.

The devil is in the details. The department will have a new phone system, meaning everyone will get a new phone number. Someone has to put names tags on the mailboxes on each floor.

Since the current Stearns County Law Enforcement Center is owned and operated by the county, there are several police pack for new building Making the big move St. Cloud Times (Minnesota) November 8, 2009 Sunday issues the city never had to deal with at the old building but will at the new. Tasks such as managing building access cards and shoveling snow now have to be handled by the city.

Each team, whether it's investigators, patrol or records, has a representative who will go through training on new systems in the building. Those representatives go back to their teams and train them. Simple things like how to open up the garages or how the security card system works will have to be taught.

"There's so much to remember," Thompson said.

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International Association for Property and Evidence
"Law Enforcement Serving the Needs of Law Enforcement"
www.IAPE.org
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