GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The city of Norcross opened its new public safety building Friday along Buford Highway.
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As Channel 2’s Gwinnett County bureau chief Matt Johnson reports, it opens at a time when police surveillance is under a national spotlight.
Norcross opened the more than $26 million public safety building Tuesday with one room wired to see the whole city: a real-time communications center.
The chief said the real-time communications center will help officers respond to calls faster and safer.
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“There’s not any more surveillance,” Norcross Police Chief Bill Grogan said.
He wants Norcross police to have a look at what is happening in less than a minute after the 911 call comes in. He says this building is his way of getting there.
“It lets us get on site, get it on station, make it safe for our officers when they arrive,” Grogan said.
The new building on Buford Highway runs more than 40,000 square feet where the old Norcross library used to sit.
“Building trust through listening, respect and strong relationships between police and community are so important,” Norcross Mayor Craig Newton said.
A 2,600-square-foot community room sits by the front door for anyone in Norcross to rent.
Inside the building there’s a new courtroom and a Brazilian jiu jitsu studio where officers train.
Upstairs is where the real-time communication center is.
“It’s not just all about cameras everywhere, but we do have access or hopefully we’ll have access to intersection cameras and things of that nature to look for accidents that might be occurring,” Grogan said.
The city left more than 4,000 square feet unfinished for whatever the department needs later.
The roof is already built for the drones Grogan wants flying in nine months.
“No one should have any concerns whatsoever, especially here in the city of Norcross, that we would ever take advantage of that,” he said.
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