The public lobby to the Police Station is open 8-4 Monday through Friday when the Administrative Assistant is at work. It stores a variety of paperwork for the public's easy access and has a year-round prescription drug take-back box.

However, the construction materials and methods used for the entry can be easily breached, which gives direct access to the booking/processing room and the rest of the station through the administrator's office.

Lobby/Public Entrance

The Booking Room is currently served by a room approximately 60 square feet in size, directly adjacent to the public lobby and personnel locker room. It is significantly smaller than any other booking room in the surrounding area. This space has several severe limitations that pose a serious liability to DPD and public safety.

Juvenile Detention- DPD cannot comply with the Federal Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 or its amendments. The act requires that juveniles be separated from adult offenders when placed in custody by sight and sound. DPD has no capability to comply with Federal Law due to a lack of privacy or proper holding cells.

Public/Private Separation- There is not a separate prisoner/arrestee entrance. Currently, arrestees are brought through the public access main entrance adjacent to the parking lot.

Sally Port- There is no sally port. A sally port is a secure area where an arrestee can be offloaded and brought from a vehicle into a secure detention area. A sally port allows for security for the prisoner, safety of the officer, non-interference by third parties, privacy for the detainee, and protection against severe weather.

Detention- The police station has minimal detention capabilities. Currently, detention is achieved by handcuffing a prisoner to the wall. Due to the small size of the booking room, there is little restriction of materials available to the prisoner. These materials could be used to harm the officer or arrestee themselves.

Restrooms- There are no restroom facilities for arrestees. Arrestees must be escorted into a common hall, shared by the public, including the parks and recreation after-school program, tax collectors office, selectman’s meeting hall, and assessing department.

To improve arrestee processing, the station would need to;

1) Construct an entrance separate from the general public for arrestees.

2) Consider the construction of a sally port for vehicle drive-through.

3) Increase the size of the booking room and separate it from other police facility functions.

4) Construct temporary holding cells and/or improved detention methods.

Booking Room

The Locker Room provides the changing and retention area for all Police personnel at DPD. DPD is currently staffed with nine full and part-time officers. The facility does not have a separate locker room for different genders.

As of 2020, DPD no longer has any female officers and may struggle to maintain any future female hires due to this limitation. There are also no bathrooms or showers available. Restrooms are across the common hall outside the Police Station and are shared with the general public and tax collectors office.

Importantly the locker room is located immediately adjacent to the booking room, allowing for easy access by any uncooperative detainees.

Locker Room

The Administrative office acts as the central hub for the police station during the weekdays. It is located next to the Patrol Office. It must be passed through to go into the interior of the police station. The Administrative office suffers from a lack of privacy due to its 3/4 walls, separating it from the patrol office. Its location is also problematic since few to none of the administrative supplies can be stored there.

Administrative Office

The Patrol Office currently houses the office space for five full-time officers and one part-time officer. The office currently has room for two contained offices that are shared by two to three officers and one table utilized for one officer. This space is taxed and has limited to no room for more officers. The area is contained by 3/4 walls that provide only limited privacy from members of the public in the lobby.

Patrol Office

The Patrol Equipment Area stores all the Patrol and Administrative supplies for the department. Forms, vehicle maintenance supplies, recording supplies, flashlights, hazmat/PPE gear, cameras, and administrative supplies are all stored here. This is also where most of the department wires pass through in a large clump. This has been identified as a fire hazard with no immediate solution.

Patrol Office: Equipment Area

The Interview Room suffers similarly to the booking room due to its size. Officers are unable to give or make space between themselves and an interviewee. Interviews of potential suspects can often be an emotional and upsetting experience and may require officers to make distance between their interviewee.

Privacy is also a major concern. The walls surrounding the room in the interior are 3/4 walls which any conversation can be easily heard in the prosecutor’s office, break room, and supervisor’s office. More importantly, the exterior cement walls do not prevent members of the public from hearing potentially sensitive interviews in the common hallway.

Interview Room

Officers commonly come into contact with blood and bodily fluids. Currently, the only location inside the police station where they can disinfect themselves or their equipment is the break room sink. This sink is also used for everyday use, such as cleaning utensils and washing hands.

Without a designated sink or shower, officers are not guaranteed to disinfect themselves in the event of encountering a large amount of blood or bodily fluids.

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