Residents flocked to Windermere Way Saturday to celebrate Edmonton’s newest police station that will serve those in the southwest.

The event included children’s entertainment, cake and refreshments as well as a chance to get to know those in the local law-enforcement industry including K9 units.

Many in the community said the new station, located at 1350 Windermere Way,  was a welcome addition.

“It’s great to have this kind of enforcement so close to home,” Dustin Graves told CTV News.

“I think prevention in the neighbourhood is key. Don’t let the hoodlums get their foot in the door and you’ll have a safe and happy neighbourhood for all.”

Fay Medrano said she has seen the crime rate increase over the two years she has lived in the community.

“Most are auto theft and those people are actually breaking into your garage.”

Medrano said having the new station in the neighbourhood helped her feel safer.

“Edmonton is growing and we, as the policing service here, are trying to catch up to that growth all the time,” Edmonton’s police chief, Rod Knecht said. 

He called the old building a “block of cement.”

“Not very welcoming to the community. Not a very good place to work in from a policing perspective and not the safest building.

“We were very shoe-horned in there.”

The new Southwest Division is 30 per cent larger than the previous building.

“I sometimes ask myself how did we ever fit everybody into the old place,” Supt. Nigel Steves added.

“It was very, very difficult.”

Knecht said the new building was helping modernize Edmonton’s Police Services.

“It’s got a tremendous community meeting area, a victim services meeting area for folks so it’s less intimidating. An ultra-modern facility, laced with high technology throughout and ergonomically friendly, economically friendly.”

Unfortunately due to the sensitivity of intelligence in the station there were no public tours.

Yet, Supt. Stevens said the facility would have a long lifespan.

“Not only will it meet the needs for today more importantly it will meet the needs for years to come.”

Mayor Stephen Mandel, who delivered a speech at the event, said a change was needed.

“People often forget the depth and breadth of the service that police are involved in today.

“We are a modern city and you can’t have a modern police force in old buildings,” he explained, adding that a new building was also needed for downtown policing services.

“The one they’ve got right now was designed for the wrong moment, the wrong time, and a different population.”

Chief Knecht agreed with Mandel that the downtown facility was outdated.

“It’s very tired. It’s 1970s vintage, police-against-the-community, it’s just a block of cement.

“The face of policing is changing. We’ve got to respond to the community and be part of the community.”

However, Chief Knecht said a new northwest building would be developed before they turned their sights downtown.

“We do have some land secured in the northwest corner. We’ll be looking at three years to build a station up in the northwest corner.”

Graves said the community event was important, especially for the children in the area.

“So they can see the importance of the police and that they are not the big bad scary people that I think a lot of kids are raised to believe.”

The new station will serve residents from Gateway Boulevard north to Whitemud Drive and west to the city limits.

With files from Breanna Karstens-Smith