The sharing of the Armory between ISU Police, ROTC and design students sometimes causes problems with privacy, said ISU Police Cmdr. Gene Deisinger.

“When confidential activities are going on immediately adjacent to a public space, this is to be expected,” Deisinger said.

Deisinger said that, although there has been some expansion of the Armory, the building has not undergone any major renovations in at least 10 years – ever since the ROTC firing range was allocated to the police.

In contrast, Dave Visin, associate director of public safety at the University of Iowa, said his police department just received a new facility in March.

“I think that it cost like $3.4 million, and we got about 20,000 square feet, and it was all preplanned, so the area is totally locked down from the public,” Visin said.

David Zarifis, director of public safety at the University of Northern Iowa, said Northern Iowa’s space situation is probably worse than Iowa State’s.

“Let me just say we had an arson in 2005 that basically shut down our quarters,” he said.

Northern Iowa is constructing a new headquarters, which Zarifis said should be completed in July, when UNI police will have a completely refurbished area available to them.

“We have some added capacity now that we’re excited to go back to,” he said.

All of the office space for ISU Police is on the second floor of the Armory. However, Deisinger said, the floor is not wheelchair-accessible, so a small space on the first floor is used for meetings.

Deisinger said the problem is not simply a matter of square footage, even though there is not an optimal amount of space – rather, the problem is one of utilization of space.

“Over the last 20 years, we went from just being security to being law enforcement and public safety,” Deisinger said. “So what was adequate before is not adequate now. We need new types of space.”

He said the communications center, one of the most vital areas of the department, has too little space. The department has more to worry about than size, however, as Deisinger said the problem was a staffing issue as well.

“For the number of events, number of visitors and the size of the campus, sometimes we are stretched in terms of personnel,” Deisinger said. “Recruiting is a challenge for law enforcement in the state and all over the country.”

One of the things that ISU Police does have going for it, Deisinger said, is its location, which is excellent – DPS is simply stretched in terms of utilizing the space provided.

“For example, when we had the search for Abel Bolanos, we had a multi-agency major search coordinated upstairs, then we had to find some space for the family members and we were inundated with the press. We also had hundreds of volunteers showing up,” he said.

In that situation, DPS was able to make things work, but the co-mingling of functions made the whole situation difficult.

The University of Iowa’s new police facility’s communications center will be completely bricked in, Zarifis said, so it will be able to withstand emergencies and storms it couldn’t before.

The facilities will also have a larger office space and processing area, as well as a small space for holding people and a completely revamped parking area, Zarifis said.

The facility will also have a new security system that uses electronic doors with cameras, intercoms and a remote access system that will allow them to buzz visitors into a holding area without DPS officers being physically present in the building.

The UNI Department of Public Safety is also in a good location, Zarifis said, in the basement of Gilchrist Hall, which allows limited access and the ability to withstand heavy storms.

He said one of the only worries he has is that the space is already too small.

“We’re already working with a limited amount of space, and I’m worried about the storage space,” Zarifis said. “But we’re limited for space and limited for funding, so we have to make sure to utilize it well.”

Visin said Iowa’s police facilities have a garage and a correctional restroom. Most of the areas are now recorded on both video and audio.

Deisinger said one of the problems ISU Police had was the lack of a private restroom. When a detainee needs to use the restroom, that person has to be escorted through a public space on the side of the Armory opposite the police area.

Visin said that, even though the Iowa DPS does have a large area to store evidence, a crime lab and a computer forensics lab, it is probably going to need more space soon.

“We’re increasing our officer numbers, and so we’re kind of moved into the space and we realize that we will need more room eventually,” Visin said. “But I think that the big thing is that we’re in a basement, so like if a tornado hits, we’re not going anywhere.”

He said it is in one of the most secure places on campus.

“So that’s the key,” Visin said. “If we have any kind of disaster or fire, we’re not going anywhere.”