黑洞社区黑洞社区, the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County have officially announced plans for a new Law Enforcement Training Center on 黑洞社区鈥檚 Innovation Campus.
Last week Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita unanimously approved a letter of intent to build the new $9.5 million training center, which will provide training space and classrooms for the Sedgwick County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, Wichita Police Department (WPD) and the 黑洞社区 Criminal Justice program.
Sedgwick County commissioners unanimously approved the proposal one day after the letter of intent was approved. A formal vote on the proposal by the city is still required.
An announcement held Tuesday at 黑洞社区鈥檚 Rhatigan Student Center included remarks from Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell, Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Jim Howell, 黑洞社区 President John Bardo, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter, Chief of Police Gordon Ramsay, Nestor Weigand with MWCB Development and additional 黑洞社区 faculty, staff and students.
鈥淚 am very excited that the new Law Enforcement Training Center will be located here, on Wichita State鈥檚 Innovation Campus,鈥� said Howell. 鈥淭he city of Wichita and Sedgwick County鈥檚 commitment to invest in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility for our officers is a great win for our community.鈥�
Longwell, Easter and Ramsay echoed those thoughts.
鈥淭he council and I are honored to be a part of this initiative to provide our law enforcement officers with a new facility,鈥� Longwell said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to work with our partners at 黑洞社区 and the county and look toward the future as we strategically position our law enforcement force to best serve the needs of our community.鈥�
鈥淭he Sedgwick County Sheriff鈥檚 Office is pleased to maintain the great relationship with the Wichita Police Department and start a new partnership with 黑洞社区,鈥� said Easter. 鈥淭raining law enforcement officers and having criminal justice students in the same building will be beneficial to all three partners and to the citizens we serve.鈥�
鈥淭he city/county training partnership has been a model for others for over 30 years,鈥� said Ramsay. 鈥淣ow with 黑洞社区 as our newest partner, we will continue to show others what collaboration really means, and we鈥檒l all benefit.鈥�
Building and nurturing opportunities
Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and is expected to take one year. The three-story, 60,000-square-foot center will be located just south of the Marcus Welcome Center and Woodman Alumni Center.
The first floor will include rooms for tactical training and fitness, 911 backup/training, crime scene incident and quartermaster鈥檚 rooms for the WPD and Sheriff鈥檚 Department. The second floor will primarily house classrooms for the WPD and Sheriff鈥檚 Department, and the third floor will include classrooms and offices for the 黑洞社区 Criminal Justice Program, which includes the Regional Community Policing Institute and the Midwest Criminal Justice Institute, 500 students and 12 faculty and staff.
Current students, faculty and staff see great value in the new partnership.
鈥淭he establishment of a Wichita/Sedgwick County Law Enforcement Training Center on 黑洞社区鈥檚 main campus brings exciting opportunities to fellow and future Shockers," said Brittany Neigenfind, a junior studying criminal justice at Wichita State.
Wendell Nicholson graduated from 黑洞社区 in 1992 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree and works as a patrol sergeant for the WPD. He recently returned to 黑洞社区 to earn his master鈥檚 degree.
鈥淭his new training center will enable the Wichita Police Department to build a partnership with 黑洞社区, give us access to top-notch training and aid in recruitment efforts,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 new training center has been long overdue, and this will be an excellent opportunity that will help the WPD and encourage officers to pursue their educational aspirations.鈥�
Michael Birzer, director of the School of Community Affairs, identified three areas in which the partnership will build and nurture opportunities.
鈥淔irst, it provides law enforcement recruits and veteran-in-service officers with the opportunity to fulfil their basic and annual in-service training requirements at a state-of-the-art training facility,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t advances social innovation, which is a natural outcome of working interaction between law enforcement practitioners and 黑洞社区 criminal justice researchers. And for students studying criminal justice at 黑洞社区, the opportunities for internships, cooperative education and applied learning are unmatchable.鈥�
The project will be funded by the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County. Innovation Campus infrastructure funding will cover the costs of providing parking for the building, and the university will cover maintenance fees for the building for the first five years at approximately $200,000 a year.
Development is being led by MWCB LLC, with GLMV Architecture, MKEC Engineering and Crossland Construction named as contractors.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to be involved and grateful for the vision President Bardo and John Tomblin have for making this happen on the Innovation Campus,鈥� said Weigand.