Arlington Hts. Village Hall will house some police

The Arlington Heights Police Department, housed in much-criticized quarters that village officials consider cramped, will move some operations to the fourth floor of village hall.

While having forensic technicians, arson investigators and crash reconstructionists work in village hall was presented as a temporary move, there is no timetable for when a new police station might be built, Village Manager Bill Dixon said Tuesday.

The currently vacant space in village hall will be used by the officers “for the foreseeable future until economic conditions would improve such that a new police facility could be considered,” said Dixon. “The (village) board made it clear last night that project (a new police station) has been shelved.”

Police Chief Gerald Mourning told the board Monday that 15 forensic technicians, four arson investigators and four crash reconstructionists will store their special uniforms and equipment in the 2,200-square-foot space, and go there when necessary to work on cases.

The $51,500 cost for preparing and furnishing the area will be funded from drug forfeiture funds. The largest expense is $17,000 for 15 lockers that can probably be moved if a new facility is built, said a report to the village board. Officials hope officers can start using the new space by spring.

The space already is accessed only with special key cards, said Diana Mikula, assistant to the village manager, and more protection will be added for any evidence left there.

The public will not notice any difference and will still go to the police station to make reports, said Capt. Richard Niedrich.

The people who will work on the fourth floor are patrol officers with additional assignments, said Niedrich. No one will be assigned permanently to the space, rather the technicians will collect evidence at scenes and take it to the new facility for assessment and processing on a case-by-case basis.

Eventually the evidence will be stored in the evidence room in the police department, said Mourning.

The extra space in the village hall, which opened in 2008, originally was designed for eventual expansion if the village's needs grew, said Mayor Arlene Mulder.

“It gives us the space we need to get the job done,” said Mourning. “We had to do something, and it's the space that's available.”