As of Friday, July 8, the Redmond Police Department’s (RPD) substation in Redmond Town Center will closed.
Services offered at the substation — bicycle and ski helmets, child ID kits, engravings, gun locks and crime prevention material — have been moved to the police department and public safety building at 8701 160th Ave N.E. Fire and Emergency Management material previously available is now available through the Redmond Fire Department.
RPD spokesperson Jim Bove said the decision to close the substation came about three weeks ago. The main reason for the closure, he said, was the lack of foot traffic.
“We have attempted several things over the years to drum up business, but nothing has worked,” Bove said in an e-mail. “Also, (the substation is) mainly staffed by volunteers so if they can’t make it that day, then it would remain closed.”
Bove said they have never had enough volunteers to keep the substation open on a consistent basis and RPD didn’t have paid staff to station there, either. The volunteers will now work at the police station, which Bove said is good because it will give them a better feeling of being part of the department.
Bove said Redmond Town Center officials are planning on moving in new businesses into the area where the substation was located. RPD was leasing the space at a discount, so Bove said the closure was not due to financial issues. The substation opened at Redmond Town Center in 1997 in a smaller, more secluded space before moving to its second and final location in 2001.
“It’s been great being down there and working with all the folks at the Redmond Town Center,” Bove said. “We have had many volunteers over the years who kept the substation up and running, which we greatly appreciate. But in the end, it just makes much more sense to offer better service and resources from the Public Safety building, which will be more beneficial for everyone involved.”
He said moving the services to the public safety building will give people a more consistent level of customer service and better hours, especially since the substation has previously been open only about 12 hours a week. The police department is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bove added that appointments are required for the ID kits and helmet fittings but the rest of the services are available at the front counter.
