An Auraria police car sits outside the department’s headquarters on Tuesday, Nov. 19. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
For nearly a quarter century, the police department for Colorado’s largest college campus by student count has been crammed into a 7,500-square-foot repurposed hallway.
“Every spare space is full of something,” said Jason Mollendor, chief of the Auraria Campus Police Department.
The Auraria campus on the edge of downtown Denver is home to three schools — the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver — with about 38,000 students combined.
Its police department operates out of the corner of an administrative building at 1201 5th St. Its space incorporates a dispatch center, two holding cells and offices for the department’s 52 staff members, 34 of whom are sworn officers.
The setup has some issues, Mollendor said. The holding cells, for example, have no bathrooms, so those in custody must be escorted to one that is also the department’s locker room, which poses a security risk.
Jason Mollendor (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
But Mollendor has a better setup in sight.
The Auraria Higher Education Council, or AHEC, which administers the Auraria campus, plans to build a new three-story, 33,000-square-foot structure at 7th and Curtis streets. A handful of portable classroom buildings currently sit on the site.
The police department will occupy about two-thirds of the building, which is expected to cost $36 million, AHEC spokeswoman Devra Ashby said. The remainder will house classrooms.
AHEC CEO Colleen Walker said she identified the need for new police space upon assuming her role in 2019.
“We couldn’t kick that can down the road any further,” Walker said.
Ashby said the campus will host town hall meetings in January on the project. She expects to finalize the design the following month and to break ground by the fall.
Other issues with the existing space, Mollendor said, are that the holding cells really fitonly only fit four people total, which “poses problems.”
“Because if we have a male and a female, they have to be in separate cells,” he said. “If we have five males and one female, which has happened, then we have to negotiate.”
The holding cells inside the police station. Officers have to take detainees out of the cells and across the hall to use the bathroom. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
The department’s office has two entrances, one of which is located inside the building’s atrium, which frequent. That’s not ideal when officers are trying to interview victims and take people into custody, Mollendor said.
Additionally, police cars currently sit in a shared parking lot for students and staff, which officers access through a north-facing exit that’s often covered with ice and snow in the winter. The new building will have a secure space for department vehicles.
Mollendor, 45, has been chief for a little over a year. Hailing from Sterling on the Eastern Plains, he has degrees from MSU-Denver and the University of Colorado Denver.
“We’re busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and people think, ‘Oh, it’s a college campus that’s so nice.’ It’s also a college campus in the heart of downtown Denver, in one of the highest crime rate areas in our state,” Mollendor said.
The police chief pointed to his campus’ crime log for proof. As of 5 p.m. last Friday, 31 crimes or police-involved incidents have been reported this month, more than one a day. Offenses range from stalking to driving under the influence to arson.
Mollendor hopes that the new police building will not only serve his department, but the student body as a whole.
“We’re looking for a facility that can engage with students and give them a space and a home as well. We don’t want to be segregated from our community. We don’t want to be separated from the people that we serve. We want to be a part of what makes this campus so vibrant and so great.”
An Auraria police car sits outside the department’s headquarters on Tuesday, Nov. 19. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
For nearly a quarter century, the police department for Colorado’s largest college campus by student count has been crammed into a 7,500-square-foot repurposed hallway.
“Every spare space is full of something,” said Jason Mollendor, chief of the Auraria Campus Police Department.
The Auraria campus on the edge of downtown Denver is home to three schools — the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver — with about 38,000 students combined.
Its police department operates out of the corner of an administrative building at 1201 5th St. Its space incorporates a dispatch center, two holding cells and offices for the department’s 52 staff members, 34 of whom are sworn officers.
The setup has some issues, Mollendor said. The holding cells, for example, have no bathrooms, so those in custody must be escorted to one that is also the department’s locker room, which poses a security risk.
Jason Mollendor (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
But Mollendor has a better setup in sight.
The Auraria Higher Education Council, or AHEC, which administers the Auraria campus, plans to build a new three-story, 33,000-square-foot structure at 7th and Curtis streets. A handful of portable classroom buildings currently sit on the site.
The police department will occupy about two-thirds of the building, which is expected to cost $36 million, AHEC spokeswoman Devra Ashby said. The remainder will house classrooms.
AHEC CEO Colleen Walker said she identified the need for new police space upon assuming her role in 2019.
“We couldn’t kick that can down the road any further,” Walker said.
Ashby said the campus will host town hall meetings in January on the project. She expects to finalize the design the following month and to break ground by the fall.
Other issues with the existing space, Mollendor said, are that the holding cells really fitonly only fit four people total, which “poses problems.”
“Because if we have a male and a female, they have to be in separate cells,” he said. “If we have five males and one female, which has happened, then we have to negotiate.”
The holding cells inside the police station. Officers have to take detainees out of the cells and across the hall to use the bathroom. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)
The department’s office has two entrances, one of which is located inside the building’s atrium, which frequent. That’s not ideal when officers are trying to interview victims and take people into custody, Mollendor said.
Additionally, police cars currently sit in a shared parking lot for students and staff, which officers access through a north-facing exit that’s often covered with ice and snow in the winter. The new building will have a secure space for department vehicles.
Mollendor, 45, has been chief for a little over a year. Hailing from Sterling on the Eastern Plains, he has degrees from MSU-Denver and the University of Colorado Denver.
“We’re busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and people think, ‘Oh, it’s a college campus that’s so nice.’ It’s also a college campus in the heart of downtown Denver, in one of the highest crime rate areas in our state,” Mollendor said.
The police chief pointed to his campus’ crime log for proof. As of 5 p.m. last Friday, 31 crimes or police-involved incidents have been reported this month, more than one a day. Offenses range from stalking to driving under the influence to arson.
Mollendor hopes that the new police building will not only serve his department, but the student body as a whole.
“We’re looking for a facility that can engage with students and give them a space and a home as well. We don’t want to be segregated from our community. We don’t want to be separated from the people that we serve. We want to be a part of what makes this campus so vibrant and so great.”
