BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) In 2022, Sen. Melissa Hurtado secured $56 million in state funding for public safety investments, and after nearly four years, the funds are being used to build new police stations in Shafter and McFarland.
Hurtado emphasized the importance of the investment, stating, “This is something that should have been invested in a long time ago. But I also think that the investment is adequate now because it provides an opportunity to modernize our public safety needs.”
State funding boosts public safety with new police stations in Shafter and McFarland{ }(KBAK/KBFX)
In Shafter, $6 million will be allocated to construct a new police substation and library extension.
Chad Givens, the city’s mayor, highlighted the benefits, saying, “We have the fastest in the Central Valley, but the thing is we want to be better. The only ones we want to be able to compete with are ourselves in this scenario, and so what we want to be able to do is make sure that we are providing that service to the residents here. The residents who are going to be coming.”
State funding boosts public safety with new police stations in Shafter and McFarland{ }(KBAK/KBFX)
Meanwhile, McFarland will receive $5 million to build a larger, more adequate police station and a new community center.
Adrian Olmos, McFarland’s chief of police, noted the current limitations, stating, “We don’t have your typical interview rooms where we can bring victims in, and there’s a sense of privacy, including the supervisors and officers who are working on cases. There’s just a lot going on around them. There are no private spaces for them to work.”
State funding boosts public safety with new police stations in Shafter and McFarland{ }(KBAK/KBFX)
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Sen. Hurtado stressed the necessity of appropriate facilities to protect the community, adding, “Even my team in Sacramento – when they came and did the tour themselves, they were shocked. And so, it’s something that motivated us even more to ensure that we got the money for the community.”