Several years and millions of dollars later, Taree police officers have a new home.
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At 10am tomorrow morning (Friday May 8), officers will relocate from the temporary police station on Muldoon Street to the new and improved facility on Albert Street.
The former station was demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art building decked out with a regional police charge facility, a breath analysis and drug testing facility, work spaces, secure parking for police vehicles and a gym.
Manning Great Lakes Police District Commander Superintendent Shane Cribb was champing at the bit to move in.
"We've been fortunate enough to have built this wonderful building that the police can now work operationally in," Supt Cribb said.
"We're very happy with the building, very happy with the design.
"It's also great for the community because some of the features within the police station increase morale and productivity which makes people want to come to work. That feeds back to the community."
It's been a long time coming for Taree officers, who will be just as eager to work in a better environment.
"They're all excited and have worked in pretty poor conditions for a lot of years at the old police station," Supt Cribb said.
Officer safety was the number one priority when designs were drawn up. This includes safety features such as CCTV.
"When the police station was being built my priority was the safety of our police," Supt Cribb said.
"I wanted to make sure they've got a building where they want to come to work."
The revamped charge room and cell area is a vast improvement.
"For years, police worked in poor charge room areas where we process our prisoners," Supt Cribb said.
"Now it's a great big area, very safe and modern."
A date for the official opening hasn't been set.
"At this stage we can't have an official opening due to COVID-19 restrictions but I can assure the community as soon as those restrictions are eased we will have a formal opening," Supt Cribb said.
The new phone number for the station is 02 5594 8299 and fax number 02 5594 8211.