A Look Inside The Groton Town Police Station

The Groton Town Police still use VCRs to videotape suspects in cells. The tapes run continuously, and it's hard to find replacements, so they use them over and over again.

The cells are dark. Cameras look in from the hallway, but they can't see it all. The desk officer observing sees an image about the size of a box of crayons.

This was one of several issues Groton Police Chief Michael Crowley pointed out during a tour of the station for the town council Tuesday. is seeking a $5.1 million renovation to the older part of the police station, which has not bee touched since the building opened in 1977.

Town Mayor Heather Bond Somers said she was struck by how old everything is.

"The video tape thing freaks me out," Somers said. She said police station looks so modern from the outside you don’t realize how antiquated it is. The addition to the station, which most people see, opened in 2001.

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Crowley said the older part of the station has cell doors that do not meet safety standards, an antiquated camera system, no secure interview room and an indoor firing range with bays that are not all functioning.

The room officers use to book, photograph and fingerprint suspects sometimes has officers with their backs to the suspects.

"We've had altercations in there," Crowley said. A few weeks ago, he said three officers had to restrain a suspect who went after an officer. The suspect had to tased, Crowley said.

Cells also have security issues, he said. The lights and cameras that monitor the cells are outside in the hall, so you can't always see behind the bars, he said. In addition, people have tried to hang themselves from the bars, Crowley said.

"We've had several attempts of people trying to harm themselves in there," he told the councilors. Crowley said no one has succeeded, but one man came close.

"He was blue," Crowley said.

The new cells would have a doors made of material like glass, that officers can see through but suspects can't break. Cameras would observe from inside the cell to see it all.

Groton's police station has six cells for adults, one juvenile cell and one padded cell. The renovation calls for 12 cells, the padded cell and an additional interview room.

In July, the state will begin requiring 17-year-olds to be held as juveniles, which will affect space in the Groton station. Juveniles must be held in a place separate from adults, where they cannot hear or see adult suspects.

The renovation would also expand the area where police take suspects in and out. The station now has one bay that can be locked while officers bring suspects in. Patrol officers, ambulances and marshals taking people to and from court must share the same bay.

The renovation would expand the bay to hold four cars.

Crowley said one his goals as chief is to gain accreditation of The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., a non-profit organization that evaluates public safety agencies. He said Groton would not get the accreditation with its current facility.

The police department project could go to voters at referendum in November.