A small town with a population of approximately 27,000 residents, Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University where the local Police Department was also located. Carbondale’s Police made use of an old dormitory with small lockers and less than ideal storage space for records, evidence and personal items. Given the buildings initial use, the department was constantly faced with unfortunate storage problems due to increasing need for space and organization.
Luckily, the Carbondale Police Department soon received the funding necessary for a new building and Chief Jeff Grubbs went to work to develop the best facility possible for his department. This began with copious amounts of research, visiting other public safety facilities and finding out what has and hasn’t worked for them, in order to streamline his departments new home from the onset – this led him to Spacesaver.
During his search for the right combination of storage solutions and uncovering new ways to create a Police Department that would not only increase efficiency, but ensure the best public safety for the college town, Chief Grubbs reached out to the local St. Louise based Spacesaver consultant and got us involved right away. We worked closely with the architecture and design firms from concept and design to execution and construction.
Below illustrates how those goals were realized over a few specific areas, as well as other solutions that were applied.
Spacesaver’s high-density storage systems keep evidence organized and accessible over the long term. Before the move to the new facility, officers thoroughly inventoried the evidence they were storing and implemented a system to purge evidence that they were no longer required to keep.
Evidentiary weapons are stored on Spacesaver 4-Post shelving in a separate locked room. The Spacesaver shelving is configured to make the most efficient use of space.
Hazardous materials are stored in a separate room, inside Spacesaver lockers.
Located near the staff entrance/exit, the equipment room houses report writing stations, spare radio battery storage, and forms and mailboxes. Spacesaver shelving is configured to provide easily accessible storage for duty bags, paperwork, and personal items.
A room adjacent to the sally port is fitted with right-sized Spacesaver shelving for gear bags and shields. Every staff member has a labeled personal protective gear bag with equipment and chest protectors, arm and elbow protectors, leg protectors, and a protective helmet.
High-quality personal lockers were the Chief’s first priority in the new facility. The locker room features ADA-compliant lockers without benches as well as lockers with benches and drawers.
Sally port lockers provide convenient temporary weapon storage.
Located next to the briefing room, the special response room can only be accessed by team members. Open, double-wide lockers provide quick access to gear.
Refrigerated compartments provide secure, temporary storage for biological evidence.
Sally port lockers provide convenient temporary weapon storage.
Located next to the briefing room, the special response room can only be accessed by team members. Open, double-wide lockers provide quick access to gear.
