The Crookston Police Department recently made significant renovations to the station and garage.
Crookston Chief of Police Darin Selzler said they were able to make the improvements partly because of some COVID funds. “We try to do something to improve our department every year like other department heads,” said Chief Selzler. “We had some projects approved that year for controlled access for the doors, and later in 2022 we had an unrestricted fund that we received so we were able to use for other building renovations like garage upgrades.”
The Police Department has a controlled access system that allows staff to use a fob for the doors and set a timed schedule for when non-employees would like to enter the station. “The premise behind all of that is that we have to follow state and federal guidelines which are called CJIS regulations, CJIS stands for Criminal Justice Information System,” said Selzer. “Since we have sensitive/private data at the police department, the state regulates whoever has access to the building, and our data.”
The garage at the Police station had many improvements made. The garage has all tin walls, ceilings, and newly installed heating and cooling systems. Other renovations included doors, an updated server room, and an armory room. The funding for these renovations was from the State of Minnesota. “These came from unrestricted funds from the state of Minnesota. All municipalities receive certain money from the state,” said Selzler. “Some of this was restricted, and we could only spend certain dollars, and some was unrestricted that we could use for other building projects.”
The renovation started in January 2022, and all projects were finished in May 2023.
Crookston P.D is taking great pride in these renovations. “This was a significant amount of money we spent between the two projects, and for some, it may just look like a garage improvement project, but it means more than that,” said Selzler. “We use that garage as a second office here at the police department. This is where we park all of our squad cars, do maintenance, process evidence, conduct training in the garage, and hang out there.” Selzler said officers and staff sometimes cook meals and spend downtime in the garage. The team believes upgraded facilities will make their working environment more enjoyable and help recruit new employees.
After speaking about the newly improved Police Station, Selzler wanted to give a message on behalf of himself and the entire Crookston P.D. “We’re fortunate here at the police department. I’m proud and humbled and privileged to run the Crookston Police Department,” said Selzler. “We have a full staff for the first time in a long time, and I’m lucky to have my supervisors and my patrol officers. We have a great staff, and everybody is doing a wonderful job.”
Photos of before and after renovations are provided below.
