The Police Headquarters facility has exceeded maximum capacity. Locker rooms and the report room are located in the basement of a garage across the street from Headquarters. Of particular concern is the Forensic Unit, which is located in a basement level of the City Hall building separate from the Police Department’s offices. The unit stores approximately 16,400 items of evidence and invoiced property in a space built to hold 10,000 items. It uses additional storage area in the basement of Police Headquarters and an area at the City Yard for storage of bicycles and similar items. The unit’s mini-lab, utilized for processing crime scene evidence, has insufficient space for installation of a table for examining large items, which have to be processed in a piecemeal fashion. The unit had to close the lab for a period of about three months to store 300 items of evidence from a major case while they were being processed in batches at the Commonwealth’s Central Lab in Richmond.

Construction or renovation of a police facility is a major financial undertaking, especially in light of the price and limited availability of real estate in Charlottesville. Whether the choice is to construct a new facility or renovate the existing building, additional space will be needed to meet the Department’s needs into the future. The City should commence a space needs assessment so it can begin the process with an understanding of the potential scope and cost of the project.

Charlottesville Police Department