Dallas officials broke ground on a new police training academy Thursday, marking a major step toward replacing the city’s aging police academy and expanding training opportunities for officers.
The new facility will be located at UNT Dallas, creating a partnership between the university and the Dallas Police Department. City leaders say the project is part of a broader effort to strengthen public safety and provide officers with modern training facilities.
Chief Comeaux Emily Capetillo
“We're gonna be the most proactive police department in the United States to make sure that we keep everyone safe,” Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said. “Our goal is to stop crime before crime happens.”
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said the city must continue investing in public safety even as Dallas has recorded six consecutive years of declining violent crime.
“A city must invest in public safety,” Mendelsohn said. “Folks aren’t going to choose Dallas if they don’t know they have a secure, safe place to live, work and play.”
UNT Dallas president Dr. Warren Von Eschenbach said the academy’s location, alongside UNT Dallas, will play a role in the benefits recruits will receive.
“An officer who completes the Dallas Police Department's Academy, a 10 month program, can earn up to 42 hours of academic credit toward their baccalaureate degree,” he said. “Officers who complete T.C. license training, a six month program, can earn up to 33 hours.”
The partnership comes as Dallas continues working to recruit and train police officers while encouraging continuing education.
Mendelsohn said the city has made progress in public safety, but there is still work to do. She pointed to lengthy police response times and random gunfire as issues that can make residents feel unsafe.
The academy’s groundbreaking also comes as Dallas prepares for a November bond election that includes additional funding for public safety projects.
Mendelsohn, despite being a strong supporter of public safety, does not support the bond package as currently proposed. She says voters should be given the opportunity to consider individual projects rather than approving a broader package.
“I am for more dollars going to the police academy,” Mendelsohn said. “We’ve got to get this project across the line. We’ve got to get it finished, and we need a first-rate program.”
She also raised concerns about the rising cost of the academy, saying the project originally started at about $130 million and is now expected to cost more than $300 million.
“This bond will be the fifth time we will ask voters to vote for a new police academy, the first three —zero dollars went to a new police academy; I will tell you, every time the same messages were floated, we got to invest, we got to do this for public safety, and no dollars went to it.”
Dallas voters approved $50 million for the academy in the city’s 2024 bond program. Mendelsohn said she wants the council to return to voters with a smaller bond focused specifically on completing the police academy.
Other officials say voters should vote in favor of the bond as it will help police hire more officers and support DPD’s public safety goals.
The new academy is expected to be completed in 2028.
