ASU Police change name, await move
<p>ASU's police force will soon have a new name and place to call home.</p><separator></separator><p>The law enforcement team is moving to a new police station at the corner of Apache Boulevard and College Avenue Nov. 15, bearing the new name of ASU Police Department.</p><separator></separator><p>The new police facility will cost about $12.5 million and be nearly double the size of its current facility on the corner of Rural Road and Apache Boulevard . The new location will make the department more accessible for the university community, says Jay Spradling, the assistant chief of operations for the department.</p><separator></separator><p>“We are getting a much more prominent location, which will make it easier for students, faculty and staff to find us in times of an emergency,” Spradling says.</p><separator></separator><p>Along with a better location, the 40,000-square-foot building will provide more meeting and training areas to host forums and training for students, faculty and staff and house an improved 9-1-1 communications center.</p><separator></separator><p>“We designed the building for the growth of the department that we know will come as the university continues to grow,” Spradling says.</p><separator></separator><p>A new addition to the facility will be the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC's new location will decrease the department's response time to major emergency situations. Previously, ASU DPS used a room that was not available around the clock, and it took a couple hours to set up before running any operations. The new station will have a designated room with the proper technology ready at all times.</p><separator></separator><p>“Most major cities have an EOC,” Spradling says. “This is where all major decision-makers for the university come together to run operations in an emergency situation, such as a public health crisis, major fire or explosion on campus.”</p><separator></separator><p>To further recognize ASU's police department as a fully accredited law enforcement agency with trained, sworn-in police officers, the department changed its name from Department of Public Safety to Police Department.</p><separator></separator><p>“Incoming students, staff and faculty are not aware that we are a fully operational law enforcement agency,” says Allen Clark, assistant chief of administration. “We feel this new name will help the university community recognize we have the same capabilities as any other police department.”</p><separator></separator><p>The ASU Police Department is responsible for – and has agency jurisdiction for – law enforcement matters occurring on property that is under the control of the Arizona Board of Regents at several ASU campus locations, including the Tempe , Polytechnic and West campuses.</p><separator></separator><p>Currently, the ASU Police Department has 156 authorized employees, with 59 of those being sworn police officers.</p>