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Durham County commissioners vote yes on $16.5 million for new Sheriff’s training facility

The proposed facility will have a new 10,000-square-foot building that will be host to civil auctions, the firing range and Sheriff's Office recruitment and training activities.
Courtesy of Durham County
The proposed facility will have a new 10,000-square-foot building that will be host to civil auctions, the firing range and Sheriff's Office recruitment and training activities.

Update on 1/14/2025

The Durham County Board of Commissioners passed a vote in a meeting on Monday night to appropriate $16.5 million in funding for a new training complex for the Durham Sheriff’s Office, replacing an existing barebones facility dating to 1985.

The county commission has previously expressed support for Sheriff Clarence Birkhead's request for a modern, more adequate training complex for several years to replace the current aging facility, which has a firing range and impound lot that lacks bathrooms and running water.

Planning began for the project eight years ago, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The vote came as the proposal faced considerable community pushback against the facility. More than 40 people signed up to speak for and against the project during the meeting on Monday evening.

Residents and activist group Durham Beyond Policing protested the proposed facility since last year, arguing that funding should instead be directed toward addressing the root causes of crime rather than further augmenting county law enforcement.

Protesters called instead for the county to focus on giving more support to housing, education and the HEART program, the city's successful new team of unarmed 911 responders. Launched in 2022, HEART acts as a holistic alternative to armed police and deputies.

"A lot of our community members are very clear, having more police is not dramatically shifting the instances of violence to happen in our community," said Nhawndie Smith, a member of the group, told WUNC before Monday's meeting. "We need to invest in other options, and not this one-size-fits-all, option that continues to to fail and sometimes takes some of our community members from us."

Arguing against the new facility is the message that reflects the interest of the community, said Smith.

"We're asking (commissioners) to vote no, and to also put a lot of pressure on them to think about, in this next budget cycle, how do they prioritize other things that safety can look like? The priorities that community members keep asking for that go underfunded?" Smith said.

The total cost of the project is $18 million, but part of the cost has already gone toward preliminary work done on the future site of the project, according to county documents.

The county manager has recommended county funding for the project using $16 million in Limited Obligation Bond funds, which are bonds funded by taxpayer money for municipal projects and infrastructure. They are paid off like a loan by the county over time.

“This an upgrade to our facility that we’ve had for the better part of 30 to 40 years,” Sheriff Birkhead told WRAL during a Jan. 6 commission hearing. “It’s adding a classroom, shelter, bathrooms. It’s giving us more security where we can hold evidence and hold civil auctions. There is an enhancement to our firing range because we are mandated to train and become efficient with weapons."

The proposed facility would build a new 10,000-square-foot facility to host civil auctions, a new firing range and Sheriff's Office recruitment and training activities, as well as a secure vehicle impound storage, according to a presentation by the county.

The Sheriff's Office also says the new facility could increase officer retention and recruitment.

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra covers issues of race, class, and communities for WUNC.
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