Crime & Safety

Photo Gallery: Take A Look Inside The New Cape Girardeau Police Headquarters, Open House Dates

KRCU Public Radio

Published March 16, 2018 at 10:52 AM CDT

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The Cape Girardeau Police Department and Municipal Court have moved into their new, centralized location on Maria Louise Street.

Lindsey Grojean/KRCU

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A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building took place on Mar. 2nd.

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A detective bureau in the new headquarters houses an open-office concept, with plenty of room for their detective unit.

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The majority of administrative offices are enclosed with windows from floor to ceiling.

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Administrative offices are located in one of the larger units of the building. Chief Blair explains all of the doors slide to open, in place of swinging doors. “We were able to condense the footprint of the building and save money,” said Blair.";s:

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The department gained a defensive tactics room. Blair says in their old building, they would practice their defense skills in a back parking lot. This room helps to reduce injuries while practicing with a large space and padded walls.

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While patrol is the biggest division, they are given the smallest space in the building as they’re typically out patrolling the city. Many briefing, break, and meeting rooms are scattered about the new building, and some boast a nice outside view. ";

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Walking through the new building, many pieces of artwork and photography can be seen along hallway and meeting room walls. Citizens and organizations have donated these pieces throughout the years, and recently, to celebrate the move.

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Chief Blair opens an evidence locker. This room, mainly an employee entrance, serves as an evidence processing room. With individual lockers, Blair says they can more easily maintain a chain of custody for evidence items.

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Chief Blair explains that they’ve made it a point to reserve plenty of space for expansion and storage. General storage space is also scattered throughout the building for future need.";

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Jail cells were inserted from the top of the building as pods, were designed to minimize the ability for someone to hurt themselves, and are completely serviceable from the back of the jail cells.

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The room Chief Blair says he is most proud of is a multipurpose community/major case squad room. “Community-oriented policing is the most important thing to us,” says Blair. Despite the need being a slight challenge to architects, his wish was granted.";s:

Lindsey Grojean/KRCU

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The municipal court also relocated from city hall on Independence Street. It is located toward the front, right wing of the building.

Lindsey Grojean/KRCU

The Cape Girardeau Police Department recently moved from their previous location on Sprigg Street to their new headquarters located at 2530 Maria Louise Lane. Open houses have now been scheduled for the public to view the police department’s new home.

Through voter-approval of the Fire Sales Tax and Public Safety Trust Fund in 2014, as well as funds from both the Casino revenue and Restaurant Tax, the city was able to begin a long-needed project for a new station and municipal court. Construction officially began on the new headquarters in 2016 on a former Naval Reserve Center site. The previous location on Sprigg Street housed the department’s headquarters since 1976, and will be sold in April of this year.

Cape Girardeau mayor Harry Rediger explained at a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier this month that this was a much needed building.

“The cramped spaces and poor working conditions are now history,” said Rediger.

Police Chief Wes Blair said the more centralized location will help them to better serve the Cape Girardeau area, and that he’s very thankful to the citizens of Cape Girardeau for making the project happen.

“This building is going to allow us to serve our citizens even better than what we have had in the past, what with the new technologies and efficiencies we have in this building,” said Blair.

Open houses have been scheduled for the public later this month, as well as a “Coffee with Cops” event.

Police Department Headquarters Open House Dates:

Saturday, March 24 / 9 AM - noon / “Coffee With Cops” event
Monday, March 26 / 3 - 6 PM

Address:

Photo Gallery: Take A Look Inside The New Cape Girardeau Police Headquarters, Open House Dates

2530 Maria Louise Ln

Cape Girardeau, MO 63701