So many jurisdictions are coping with outdated and dysfunctional facilities, in many cases because those facilities were never intended to serve law enforcement needs in the first place. The IACP has responded to the recurring requests for guidance and technical assistance coming from its membership in a very specific way.

Rather than pointing to model facilities to be copied or emulated, the IACP research recommends a comprehensive planning approach that would help each jurisdiction identify its own particular facility needs. And beyond identifying the physical issues and responses involved, staff has sought to assist in laying out a broad range of considerations and activities from what to do first, to how to build support for the project, to how to facilitate and achieve programming, design, construction, and a successful occupancy.