SANTEE, S.C. — The Santee Police Department is showing off its new upgraded facility.
"Bigger departments have the finances and the workforce to complete tasks a little easier," said Joseph Serrano, Santee Police Department's Chief of Police. "In this department, we wear multiple hats, and we have to adjust as things adjust."
Santee officials recently cut the ribbon to the police station that's attached to the council chamber. The chief of police says the new building gives his officers a better work environment than the old facility they used to share with the DMV.
"It was a little bit cramped, and we didn't have a lot of room for our supplies. Officers didn't have their own desks," explained Serrano. "That's part of the problem in this job is keeping the morale up. Being a new building, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, progression, and things are going to get better."
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The brand new building is in the heart of the Town of Santee, and it includes a courtroom, conference area, and other offices. Chief serrano says the building shows the law enforcement agency to be more than a department.
"We used to be a department; that's what people think of it as a police department," explained Serrano. "However, we are more than a department, and we provide a service to the community."