A Peek Inside First District Headquarters

Last night, MPD's First District held an open house to celebrate the opening of their new headquarters building, which is located at 101 M Street in the old Anthony Bowen School. Also, the First District was named best police station this year and October is National Crime Prevention Month, so there was a lot to celebrate. As a part of the festivities, there was a police horse outside of the station, presentations by Commander Kamperin and Council members Wells & Mendelson, catering by Hogate's Cafe, as well as tours of the facility. Below are some photos from the tour I took of the First District HQ. The above photo is a sign on the wall near the entrance to the police station.

(Left) This is the Roll Call room on the second floor, where officers gather to receive their orders. It still looks like a classroom.

(Right) The holding cells are located on the ground level. There are separate holding cell area for men and women.

(Left) Here is a photo of the toilet and sink in the "bullpen," a larger holding cell where groups of prisoners are kept. There were no prisoners held at the First District station during the open house.

Forensics Lab Delayed?

According to this article from The Examiner, Council member Mendelson held a hearing today to find out the progress towards creating the Consolidated Forensics Laboratory in Southwest. From the article: "D.C. has set aside tens of millions of federal and local dollars to build itself what officials are promising will be a top-notch crime lab. But the administration scrapped early plans to move the lab to 225 Virginia Ave. SE despite a rent-free lease for the first year of the space." However, the article incorrectly states that the 1st District HQ will move to the Virginia Avenue site. Actually, the 1st District HQ is moving to the former Bowen Elementary School on M Street. There is a construction fence around the school and from what I could tell from walking by the site last week, the retrofit has begun. In fact, this press release from the DC Government from last Wednesday states the following: "Mayor Adrian M. Fenty showcased construction progress the city has made in completing renovating Bowen Elementary School, the relocation site for the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District Station. Renovations at Bowen ES are being completed by the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) who began working on the project in July 2008. Bowen is currently undergoing the last stage of demolition and is expected to be completed by Jan. 2009." The Consolidated Forensics Laboratory is scheduled to be complete in 2011. You can read my post from June about this project.