HUNTSVILLE – The eight-member crime scene investigative team within the Huntsville Police Department likely let out a collective sigh of relief at last week’s regular meeting of the Huntsville City Council.
That relief came with the passage of a resolution greenlighting a new Criminal Investigation Division building and warehouse. After years of working in cramped conditions, the new CSI digs to be built on Wheeler Avenue across from HPD headquarters will be 14,000 square feet complete with labs, office space, evidence processing areas and vehicle processing bays.
“We have the advanced technology in place for crime scene analysis, but we need dedicated space to be more efficient and process evidence faster,” said Police Chief Kirk Giles.
The project includes a separate, climate-controlled, 13,500 square-foot facility for vehicle and evidence storage.
“The law requires us to hold evidence for years, and in some cases in perpetuity,” investigator Jeremy Phipps said. “The new warehouse will allow us to meet legal storage requirements for decades to come.”
Along with providing additional secure storage, Phipps said the new CSI facility will also meet the department’s needs for growth.
“The additional space will allow us to add more equipment for processing evidence and the room to work multiple cases at one time while securely protecting evidence from cross-contamination,” he said.
Pearce Construction will build the $9.7 million project. Work is expected to begin in the coming weeks and should take one year to complete.
