When the Fair Oaks District Police Station opened in 1983, it had a conference room, holding cells, a large storage area and a sally port — a drive-through garage for bringing in and taking out prisoners securely.
"But now they're used for other purposes," said MPO Brad Batten of that station. "The conference room is now an office for three people and, depending on the weather, the sally port has been converted to a very hot or very cold office for nine people."
It's for these and other reasons that, if the public-safety bond referendum is passed Nov. 7, the Fair Oaks District Station is slated to receive $17.4 million for major renovations, expansion and infrastructure renewal. And for the men and women who work there, it can't come soon enough.
"We have outgrown the facility and have utilized every square inch of space we possibly could," said Capt. Amy Lubas, the station commander. "But we've now exhausted all our possibilities and have pushed the station to its limits. So we've reached the point where the only thing we can do is expand the building so we can properly serve the citizens."
For example, the patrol officers have no desks, at all. "I don't have anything for my officers on the road," said Batten. "Their cruiser is their office to write reports and interview people on their cell phones. They do their paperwork on a clipboard in front of the steering wheel."
They each write three to 10 reports a night, plus summonses. And when it's dark, they work by the overhead light inside their cars. They also have to haul around a lot of gear with them, and there's precious little space inside the station where they could store it.
"Twenty years ago, I used to walk out with two briefcases and was pretty-well equipped," said Batten. "Now, an officer at the beginning and end of his shift is carrying two briefcases, for paperwork, plus one or two duffel bags full of equipment."
THIS EQUIPMENT includes: A gas mask, biohazard gear — apron, gloves and surgical mask — to minimize the risk of exposure to bodily fluids, flashlights, batteries, regular gloves, leashes and extra handcuffs. Members of the Civil Defense Unit (CDU) carry all this, plus tactical vests, knee pads, helmets, riot batons, fire-retardant wear and chemical/biological suits. And medics have medical supplies with them.
Said Batten: "Back in 1983, nobody thought they'd be carrying all this gear." But that's not all. Officers also have to lug around a filing cabinet for all their active cases.
Every officer has a file drawer in the station but, said Batten, "We're a long way from each officer having their own desk to keep up with 10-15 criminal cases each, and an average of 50-60 traffic cases. Some officers even have up to 150 traffic cases."
The station's electric generator also has serious problems. "When we had a power outage Wednesday [Oct. 25], the backup generator came on," said Batten. "But when the power went off a second time, the backup generator failed. We were without power for an hour — no lights, computers, phones, nothing."
Trouble is, it's a 1982 generator and the company that made it — and its parts — is no longer in business. So for the moment, the police station is squeaking by with a temporary generator. But it's not a permanent solution.
Rotting wood causes people to sink into a hole in the floor of the front-desk area. And in the former sally port — crammed in with the paint cans, ladder, air compressor and other building-maintenance items — is the office for the nine bike-patrol members.
Prisoners are now taken straight to jail because the holding cells were converted into an exercise room for police, plus the firefighters next door who sometimes use it, too. And, said Batten, "The storage area is now a second men's locker room because we ran out of space."
In 1983, some 65-70 police officers — including a handful of civilian personnel — worked there. Now there are 117 people — 86 men and 31 women — and 101 of them are sworn police officers.
ALTOGETHER, there are three men's locker rooms and one for women. But space is still tight because, although each officer has a locker for his or her uniform, it's not big enough to hold all their gear.
Twenty-three years ago, Fair Oaks only had four or five female officers; now 31 women share a small, cramped locker room with a one-person shower. Since six to eight women are often in the locker room at the same time, said Pfc. Liz Barrington, "Usually, briefcases are stacked up in the changing area of the shower stall and in the shower, itself."
Some gear is also thrown above the lockers. "You need two to three bags to carry all your daily equipment, and it's hard to get much in a locker," said Barrington. "I have my uniforms, legal books for writing general orders and reports, forms and pens and a box for court cases I'm working on. But it gets piled up because it doesn't fit in your locker. So we keep some of it in our cruisers or at home."
Police there used to have three interrogation rooms. Now it's just two — one with peeling walls where prisoners have picked off the soundproofing material, and one that's only about 5x7, or the size of a closet.
And since the conference room was converted to office space, it can no longer be used for small meetings or to talk with witnesses and victims. Instead, officers have to meet with these people in the shabby room with the peeling walls.
Barrington and two others now work in the former conference room, which is used for crime-prevention purposes, plus the traffic-liaison officer — who's also the station's computer technician. And there's not much space.
"When you get three people in here, it's stuffy," said Barrington. "And if we have citizens come here, it's uncomfortable and it doesn't look very professional."
Sometimes 14 people are stuffed into the report-writing room at the same time, and the roll-call rooms lacks enough seating. And, said Batten, "We don't have any rooms to hold 22-25 people for Citizens Advisory Committee or Neighborhood Watch meetings."
As for parking, said Batten, "On a day-to-day basis, we eke by. But when we have citizen, tactical or unit meetings, then cars are double-parked."
WHEN THE station opened, it had no Victim Services Section, crime analyst or domestic-violence detective. But it does now, and they, too, need places to put their equipment.
As it is, said Batten, "One detective has an office in a converted computer room. And if, for example, there's an ongoing crime spree requiring extra detectives, we sometimes have to put a desk in the hall."
If the public-safety bond is passed, the station will only gain about 5,200 square feet. But it'll make a big difference because, said Batten, when it comes right down to it, "The needs of the officers have expanded far beyond the floor space."