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FALL 2017
McKenzie County Law
Enforcement Center
New state-of-the-art facility enhances and encourages collaboration
The 94,000 square-foot building puts
several law enforcement agencies under
one roof—the McKenzie County Sheriff’s
Department, Watford City Police Depart-
ment, Correctional Facility, Highway Patrol,
and Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The building also provides more space. For
example, the Correctional Facility now has
136 beds compared to the previous 21.
In addition, there’s plenty of room for the
growing number of employees to work. In
the last few years, the Watford City Police
Department has grown from four officers
to 21, and the Sheriff’s Department has
grown from four to 34.
Planning for the McKenzie County Law
Enforcement Center began years ago when
agency leaders and the architect came
together and toured other law enforce-
ment facilities across the state to find
out what elements were liked, disliked,
and absolutely necessary. This extensive
research, combined with the discussion of
virtually every detail, laid the groundwork
for the state-of-the-art facility.
The building was designed to encourage
collaboration and improve efficiency.
Some of its features include:
•
Carefully chosen tables and chairs in
the Highway Patrol area
– High tables
were used because some officers like
to stand (due to equipment and belts)
while other prefer to sit. The chairs
have no arms to provide room for
equipment and belts.
•
No desktop computers in the Sheriff’s
Department
– Instead, officers all
have laptops with docking stations in
their offices, making it easy for them
to move their office laptops to their
vehicles and back again.
While the oil boom in McKenzie County brought economic development and population growth to the
area, it also brought a higher crime rate. This resulted in the need for more law enforcement officers,
more jail beds, and more services, and ultimately led to the new $57 million McKenzie County Law
Enforcement Center, which opened in Watford City in April 2017.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Ken Rooks, Corrections Administrator and Gary Schwartzenberger, McKenzie County Sheriff