Surprise’s 1st police substation will house a high-tech Real-Time Crime Center

The Surprise Police Department’s first substation, a 32,000-square-foot facility, will serve the growing West Valley community by adding a Real-Time Crime Center.

This will put Surprise among several Valley cities — including Phoenix, Chandler and Peoria — that use the centers to monitor surveillance feeds and provide real-time intelligence to officers in the field.

Last month, Willmeng Construction began construction of the substation at the northwest corner of 163rd Avenue and San Ysidro Road, just south of Happy Valley Road. The facility will sit next to Surprise Fire-Medical Station 304, another Willmeng Construction-built project.

Willmeng Construction expects the Surprise Police substation to be fully built in the fall of 2027.

How will the Surprise Police substation make the city safer?

The $5.7 million facility will accommodate about 60 sworn officers and civilian support staff. The new Surprise Police substation is also expected to reduce response times, place patrol units closer to the community and provide more space for first responders.

Mayor Kevin Sartor said the project is about more than adding a new police building.

“This isn’t just a building; it’s a commitment to the community,” Sartor said in a Tuesday news release. “It’s a commitment to having our police in the community and transcending just basic police work, but going to that community policing where you know each other by name.”

The facility will include a K-9 operations center with five indoor kennels, outdoor exercise areas and wash stations. There’s also a secure double-doored entryway designed to transfer dogs without the risk of escape, known as a K-9 sally port.

The substation will also have features that help officers train and decompress. There will be a fitness center, a  full kitchen, fitness center and recharge rooms where they can relax after stressful calls.

“We’re looking about 18 months before it’s complete,” Sgt. Rick Hernandez, a spokesperson with the police department, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

He said that after receiving positive community feedback on the newly opened Safe Exchange Zone at the main police station, the department is planning on setting up a second zone once the new substation is complete.

“It’s been really positive feedback,” Hernandez said of the zone, which is monitored 24/7 by three cameras and designed for child custody exchanges and online pickups. “We recently broke ground on a second substation in the northern part of our city, and one of the most common questions is, ‘Will there be a Safe Exchange Zone at the new precinct?’ And that answer is ‘Absolutely. Yes.'”

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