On the outside, it looks like

an upscale office building.

But Peachtree City's new Police

Department building offers much more on the inside, particularly in the

way of security.

Video surveillance cameras

are nearly everywhere: the adult and juvenile holding cells ... the lobby

... holding cells ... and the secured bay where prisoners are ushered

into the building.

The video system is a big plus

to top-level administrators, said Police Chief James V. Murray. They can

monitor officers' activities, from hauling in prisoners to inspecting

their vehicles before heading out on patrol to the daily roll call where

special information is handed out before each shift begins.

"You can see where everybody

is without getting up from your desk," Murray said, adding that the

system would pay for itself in time savings alone.

The building cost $1.8 million,

and construction began in June of last year. It was finished March 30,

three months behind schedule but three months earlier than originally

estimated, according to City Engineer Troy Besseche.

The public will be invited

to tour the facility Sunday, July 22 for two hours along with the city's

newest fire station on Paschall Road. That gives the department a little

more time to get unpacked and everything should be looking nice by then,

Murray said.

"That way, people will

really be able to see the bang they got for their money," Murray

said. "This should be here for the next 100 years, and it's paid

for with today's dollars."

In addition to the video surveillance

system, the new building features an electronic key card system. It helps

keep track of officers' whereabouts, logging on a computer when they drive

into the gated parking lot and enter certain secured areas such as the

evidence room or holding cells.

Both the video and electronic

key card system help protect the department by providing records indicating

how each prisoner is processed, Murray said. It saves time as opposed

to manually logging each action, which is required to meet national accreditation

standards, he added.

In the adult holding cell,

a large video monitor in plain view warns prisoners that their actions

are being taped, the chief added.

"That shows them there's

no need to try anything," Murray noted.

And should something go wrong,

a panic button on the wall sets off an alarm to alert other officers to

respond and get the situation under control.

The separate juvenile holding

cell, several secured doors away, links to a second front door entrance

where juveniles are released to their parents' care after being processed,

Murray said. The entrance, which is open 24 hours a day, serves as a waiting

room for the parents.

Processing prisoners is a more

secure task now compared to the station's former location at the first

floor of City Hall, the chief added.

"My greatest fear was

the kids going over the bridge to story time [at the library]," Murray

said. If a prisoner tried to get away, it could have endangered those

children and other citizens, in addition to the officer and the suspect

themselves, Murray noted.

"I guess nobody thought

we'd arrest 2,000 people a year," Murray said.

The old station was also smack

in the middle of a residential area, and the new location on Hwy. 74 south

is situated a bit farther from homes, Murray noted.

The new facility contains a

large modular multipurpose room, part of which is normally used for roll

call. It can be adapted to host more than 100 people for large training

exercises, which the department hosts occasionally, Murray said. On the

border of the room is a work station area for officers to plug in their

lap top computers and complete their "electronic" paperwork.

The new digital phone system

is also handy, Murray said. Each officer has his or her own voice mail

box, and they can check it from home if they wish.

Another feature of the new

building is the ceremony room, which is large enough to host an emergency

operations center should a disaster strike. It is also used as the main

area where promotions are awarded, Murray said, adding that the sky-lit

room is used every day.

The records room represents

another major advancement, Murray noted. It features sets of large metal

brackets that will hold boxes of records, making it easier to find material

dating