KILLEEN, Texas (KXXV) — As Central Texas grows, so does the infrastructure needed to support its public safety teams. In response to long-standing capacity issues, the Killeen City Council recently approved almost $4.5 million for a construction contract to build a new evidence storage facility for the Killeen Police Department.
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The existing storage building, used since 2009, has long pushed its limits.
Killeen Police Commander Antonia McDaniel, who oversees the Support Services Division, sat down with 25 News to discuss why the department sees this expansion as critical—pointing to both aging systems and an increasing volume of permanent evidence files.
“Right now, space is one of our current issues,” McDaniel said. “So we are working on creating space, and having these upgrades will give us more room to store our evidence.”
Beyond square footage, the new building will come with enhanced operational design. KPD is planning to hire a new evidence manager to help streamline and reduce excess inventory while maintaining critical, long-term records such as homicide files.
McDaniel emphasized that the expansion also creates opportunity for reassessment.
“We have a plan to get rid of evidence we don’t need anymore,” he said. “But we’ve also started collecting more permanent evidence. So while we expand, we’re also looking to streamline.”
Among the major updates, the department will add a second vehicle processing bay. Currently operating with just one, the new addition will increase speed and efficiency for collecting and handling evidence, while freeing up the current bay for alternative storage use.
“One of the largest upgrades we’re going to have is a brand new vehicle processing bay,” McDaniel explained. “Having an additional bay gives us more space to process vehicles—and also lets us transform the current one into additional storage.”
The department’s North Killeen location experienced flooding during recent heavy rains, but McDaniel noted that the decision to upgrade had been in motion long before.
Still, the incident reaffirmed the need for a facility that could support growth, weather future challenges, and deliver faster results.
“Well one, Killeen Police Department strives to provide the best service we can possibly provide,” McDaniel said. “So when we’re collecting evidence, we’re just going to do it better. That additional vehicle bay means our goal is to get it done faster now.”
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