ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Police Department recently wrapped up a locker room renovation project and will soon upgrade its camera system at its building and City Hall, RPD Chief Pete Pavia said April 16. 

The $251,950 locker room renovation included shower improvements to allow for hot water, male and female changing facilities, locker updates and work on the firing range. Renovation of the area had not been done since RPD moved into the facility. The facility's previous state didn’t have hot water for showers or a dedicated area for female officers. Lockers were enlarged in size and upped in number from 18 to 30 lockers in the male locker room with 10 new lockers in the new female locker room. The RPD locker rooms are located in the basement of City Hall.

“It was just in dire need of upgrading and we had some storage rooms down there that were seeing issues with their ceilings and just in bad shape,” Pavia said. “We had no locker rooms for females and the showers didn't have hot water. We went to the city manager and city council and told them the vision and they approved it. It's been great. Our officers are so appreciative of it. It's just amazing that something as simple as locker rooms can go that far. It was wrapped up in January.”

At its March 24 meeting, the Rochelle City Council approved a resolution authorizing the purchase, installation and maintenance of a camera system at the Rochelle Police Department and City Hall.

The cost for the camera system from Beck Tech will be $111,686.76. It will include 34 new cameras and a new server. 10 of the city's current cameras will be able to be utilized. The new system will include a five-year warranty.

“That was something that needed to be updated,” Pavia said. “It seemed like our camera system had been piecemealed together over time. We have cameras all over the place that no one understands where they went to. There were cameras added that run to a closet and cameras added that run to another closet and some cameras ran into the dispatch center. It's just a mish mosh of cameras and they're so outdated. One in the council chambers is a 20-year-old camera.”

RPD hopes to have the camera work done soon and Beck Tech has ordered the equipment for it. The new system will eliminate some lag time issues that have been seen with camera feeds that will improve safety. The entirety of RPD and City Hall will now be covered by cameras.

“We have cameras in the jail cells,” Pavia said. “We have to be able to watch those live and we can't have a lag. It's very important. We need to see what's going on and a live feed of it. An officer could be booking a prisoner or something like that and if we're not seeing what's going on live, that could put our officers at more risk. Now we're adding a camera in our gym that we've made improvements to. If someone is down there and something were to happen, at least someone is looking now.”

The improvements represent over $360,000 in reinvestment in RPD’s space at City Hall. Pavia said that goes a long way towards improving employee morale and RPD’s ability to recruit potential future officers and dispatchers.

“We want people to be proud of the place they work in,” Pavia said. “Just these little changes we're making are huge morale boosters for everyone. People see that we care and notice the small things. An example is female locker rooms. It's a huge thing. Now one of the focal points when we give a tour to a prospective employee is the renovated downstairs area. We're fortunate that we have our own shooting range here. Most police departments don't have an in-house range. When other agencies look in there they're impressed by that.”

Pavia thanked the mayor and city council along with City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh for being willing to listen to and execute the improvements. Fiegenschuh said the reinvestment shows pride in the building and is a great way to recruit and retain officers.

“Especially for recruiting,” Fiegenschuh said. “If you bring potential candidates through and there's mold on the walls and the showers are cold, that's not good. The shape of facilities says a lot about the organization. I think the improvements have gone a long way. We did some painting. It just looks like a completely new facility. The mayor and council have said they want to keep RPD and City Hall downtown. We're going to do that, and that means reinvesting in the building so it lasts.”