Temporarily relocating the Greenwood Police Department so that its existing headquarters can be renovated has not been easy.
Police Chief Ray Moore is hoping to open the temporary location, the former Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop D barracks on the U.S. 82-49 bypass, by the end of the month.
That’s when a $2.5 million renovation project of the Main Street headquarters can begin.
One major complication to the project has been the city’s phone and computer lines, almost all of which are routed through the Police Department.
Also moving the department’s computer system has its own problems.
“We have a closed system, as far as our server is concerned. They’ve got to do a point-to-point connection from the old Highway Patrol station to the (Detective) Annex. They’ve also got to do one from the patrol station to where the Municipal Court is going to be out at the old prison administration building,” Moore said.
Unfortunately, plans to also use the department’s substation at the corner of Gibbs and Howard streets failed to materialize because the substation operates on a “line-of-sight” system, the chief said.
That means the entire department, with the exception of the Detective Annex and Municipal Court, will be at the barracks location, Moore said.
“We can manage. This building is actually not as small as you’d think it is,” he said of the barracks.
In addition to computers, Moore said, the department needs secure National Crime Information Center and Mississippi Justice Information Center connections as well as an intoxilyzer — a breath alcohol testing device — at the new location.
The barracks themselves have had a bit of a makeover in advance of the move, with fresh paint and new carpeting.
Moore said the transfer from the existing location to the barracks must be done quickly in order to not compromise the public’s safety.
When it happens, phones will temporarily ring at both locations. Radios will also be in operation at both locations simultaneously, he said.
It might take an hour to an hour and a half to change over all the connections.
Moore said the department intends to remain open and accessible once the transition takes place.
“We’re still there for the public,” he said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
