The City of Richmond is going to double the capacity of its City Centre policing operations, when it moves to a new location in the fall of 2019.
Currently operating out of a cramped 4,500 square feet at Lansdowne and No. 3 roads, the City Centre Community Policing Office is moving to the 10,000 square feet temporary Brighouse Firehall No. 1 on the northwest corner of Gilbert Road and Granville Avenue.
Richmond Fire-Rescue will be moving into its new fire hall across the street within the next month.
According to the city, once that move is complete, the $5.1 million renovation - to be funded from voluntary developer amenity contributions - will begin at 6931 Granville.
The expanded space will allow a designated complement of police officers to be permanently based in the new facility, which, say the city, will “reduce response times and increase in service time.”
The new space will allow for on-site processing of offenders and storage of critical emergency response and other supplies.
“As our community grows, there is an increasing demand for police services across Richmond, but particularly within our rapidly evolving City Centre,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie in a press release.
“Council has already approved funding for 40 additional police officers during the current term to meet emerging community needs.
“An expanded City Centre Community Police Office will allow us to permanently station officers in the heart of Richmond, improving response times and increasing street level presence”
The City Centre area currently generates just over 1,000 police calls a month, which is 28.6 per cent of all calls.
With tens of thousands of new residents moving into Richmond’s downtown over the next few decades, the City Centre area is anticipated to comprise about 37 to 41 per cent of the total calls for service by 2030.
About 37 cents from every tax dollar goes towards police and fire-rescue services, as well as emergency programs.
City council approved funding for an additional 16 police officers and three municipal police employees in the city’s 2018 operating budget.
The imminent opening of the new No. 1 Brighouse Fire Hall marks the conclusion of a 15-year building program, which has seen Richmond build five new fire halls, undertake a major retrofit of a sixth fire hall and acquire and renovate the Richmond Community Safety Building to serve as new central home for the Richmond RCMP detachment.
