Construction of the new 16,750 square-foot station at 350 Wood Street began in June 2017 and was completed in November 2018.
The new station replaced the police department’s previous headquarters on North Main St. The $9.5 million cost to build the new station was funded through a Town Meeting article in 2016.
The old station was built in 1819 and had been a general store during its history, until it was converted to a police station and the 4th District Court in 1938. In 1978, the court was moved and it served as the town’s police station through the end of 2018.
The new station features some of the latest technology used in policing and will also be safer for the community. Because of the design of the old station, any people in custody had to be brought inside through the lobby, where members of the public could be seeking assistance or waiting for service. The new station has a separate entrance for prisoners and those in protective custody.
Another feature of the new station, which will surely be a boost for morale for the officers is having multiple bathrooms. The old station had one bathroom which was shared by everyone in the department.
The Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School, is building an outbuilding to house the department’s motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, bicycles and trailers. It will also have an area for fleet maintenance on cruisers. Students will be building the structure and the town will only have to pay for the materials, saving the town approximately $200,000 in costs.