Plans unveiled for Dallas Police Training Academy on UNT Dallas' campus
DALLAS - There was a big unveiling of plans for a state-of-the-art Dallas Police Training Academy on the campus of UNT Dallas.
A first of its kind public-private collaboration with a $10 million grant from Communities Foundation of Texas to get the fundraising started
The Dallas Police Academy is a stretch of rental space in an industrial strip in the Red Bird area.
It’s too small, outdated, and in a building that shows its age.
Officers spent $4,000 of their own money to build training rooms so they might have better reality-based training.
"It is an honor to address you today with news that will undoubtedly shape the future of our department, in turn, the safety and well-being of this city that we all love," Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.
The Dallas Regional Police Academy will be housed on the campus of UNT Dallas.
The state-of-the-art training facility will be at the campus with the Caruth Police Institute.
"It's amazing to have the experts, criminologist, and people in the field that will help guide the direction we're going," Garcia added.
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The academy at UNT Dallas will be the first of its kind public-private partnership.
Communities Foundation of Texas planted the initial philanthropic seed of a $10 million grant.
"We believe that this best-in-class partnership with UNT Dallas, the Caruth Police Institute, the city of Dallas, and the Dallas Police Department is exactly the kind of investment that Mr. Caruth envisioned when he created this fund and legacy of generosity," Communities Foundation of Texas CEO Wayne White said.
The projected cost is $140 million.
A total of $70 million is to be raised from private funds, including the Communities Foundation of Texas grant, with $50 million included in this year's bond package and $20 million coming from the state of Texas.
State Senator Royce West, who is called the father of UNT Dallas, led the effort to get state dollars.
"In this country, where there is so much divisiveness, us working together in the city of Dallas, regardless of political affiliation, can be a true testament in terms of what's going on in this country," West said.
In three years, if all goes as planned, renderings of a new Dallas Police Regional Training Academy will become reality.
"This has been a several year effort. We are now on the precipice of an exciting new era in law
enforcement training in North Texas," UNT Dallas president Dr. Bob Mong said.