LAWRENCE REGIONAL

PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER

MARCH 17, 2016
THE PROPOSED LAWRENCE REGIONAL
PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER

is the product of a two-year

collaboration between the City of
Lawrence, Northern Essex Community
College, the Executive Office of Public
Safety, and the Commonwealth Executive
Office of Administration and Finance,
with strong support from the private/non-
profit/institutional/community sectors
through the Lawrence Partnership.
 THE NEED: LAWRENCE ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT

A top priority for the City of Lawrence is the

revitalization of its downtown.

1. Revitalize Lawrences main street by addressing the

public safety perception that affects investment decisions
made by businesses and homeowners.

2. Increase municipal revenues by attracting new visitors to

downtown, spurring foot traffic to local businesses and
investment in nearby properties, thereby growing the
property tax base and increasing meals tax revenue.

3. Increase educational opportunities for Lawrence residents

to meet current and future job opportunities.
THE NEED: PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING

Across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts there is insufficient training available for new
and existing public safety officers.

A Regional Public Training Center would:

1. Reconcile supply and demand of fully training public safety officers. Increased
retirement rates of officers are driving a sense of urgency in municipalities creating
pressure on the MPTC to deliver more recruit training.

2. Improve training quality while reducing cost to taxpayers. Supporting innovative police
training partnerships with NECC will increase training efficiencies with shared facilities
and resources and provide opportunities for professional development for officers that
offer advanced credentials and college degrees.

3. Institutionalize excellence in public safety training. Specialized spaces within the center
will greatly enhance public safety training and be available for use by municipal, state,
and federal agencies, helping to fund the cost of operation.
THE NEED: POLICE DEPARTMENT HQ

In FY15 Lawrence had the highest emergency call volume out of 92

communities reporting to the Essex County Regional ECC, followed by
Lynn and Lowell. In 2014 Lawrence had 19% and 43% more incidences of
violent crime than Lynn and Lowell respectively. The Police Department
Headquarters is significantly inadequate to meet the Citys public safety
needs. Limitations include:

1. Significant overcrowding. The 20K SF facility does not provide safe

entries, proper intake areas, room for intelligence sharing and analysis,
interview rooms, and undersized dispatch facilities and operations.

2. Major exposure to safety and legal liabilities. There is no ability to

control access to building and its interior, constraining ability to protect
visitors and workers. Space doesnt allow for proper
storage/security/separation of evidence, weapons and ammunition.

3. Inadequate space for training. The current police headquarters provides

no space for officers to train with handguns and practice personal defense.

4. Community development. No space exists to host community events or

informal meetings between police and residents, limiting opportunities for
positive community engagement.
THE PROPOSAL
The proposed Lawrence Regional Public Safety Center is a first-of-its-kind
partnership which would provide efficient, high quality public safety training
that also meets public safety training, education needs, and economic
development goals. The Center will feature:

1. An expanded Criminal Justice Program, offered by Northern Essex Community

College, serving up to 600 students/year.

2. A permanent location for ongoing basic police recruit training provided jointly by
the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Council and Northern Essex
Community College.

3. A modern facility housing the Lawrence Police Department Headquarters.

4. Customized training and facilities rental (e.g. firing range, situational training
maze, etc.) for municipal police, state police, sheriffs departments, private security
companies, federal employees, and other organizations, for up to 200 trainees
annually.
NECC CAMPUS & DOWNTOWN INTEGRATION

NECC Lawrence Campus

1991 - 2011
NECC CAMPUS & DOWNTOWN INTEGRATION (cont.)

NECC Lawrence Campus

2014 +
NECC CAMPUS & DOWNTOWN INTEGRATION (cont.)
 CONCEPT RENDERING

NECC PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CENTER ENTRANCE

 CONCEPT RENDERING

LAWRENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS ENTRANCE

PROJECT COST ESTIMATE

Estimated Const. Cost* $53.90M

Total Project Cost $70.00M
Land acquisition $ 0.65M
Total Cost $70.65M

*including 1 year escalation at 5%

 Public Safety Training Cost/Benefit
Potential Savings Associated with the
Self-Payer Model:
Pre-employment costs/recruit =
$31,004.24*
*Represents actual costs incurred by the City of
Lawrence, per recruit, in 2014.
Graduates at NECC/Lawrence Public
Safety Training Center
200 per year @ 31,004 = $6,200, 800
Graduates all MPTC and MPTC
Affiliated Academies
650** per year @ 31,004 =$20,152,600
**The MPTC and the Massachusetts Police Chiefs
Association predict this number will increase exponentially
in the next three (3) to five (5) years due to the large number
of officers who will become eligible to retire. That number
is estimated to be in the thousands.
OPERATING COST OFFSET

Facility rental and new programming are revenue generators which can offset
recurring operational costs. Sample rental rates are:

Smart classrooms
$60-125/4 hours (depending on private/non-profit/government)

Computer Labs
$100 per hour no minimum usage

Gym
$125 per hour no minimum usage

Conference Rooms
$60-250/4 hours (depending on size of room and # of attendees)
 Thank you for
your support.
Daniel Rivera
Mayor
City of Lawrence
~~~
Dr. Lane Glenn
President
Northern Essex Community
College