TOWAMENSING TOWNSHIP – Pennsylvania State Police's Lehighton Troop is settling into their new home.
It's just a few miles away from their old location in Carbon County, and it's a new building that offers much more than just some extra space.
Behind the new brick walls is a state of the art new home for troopers in Carbon County. State Police Lehighton moved in just this past month.
Their last upgrade was about 30 years ago. Since then these troopers and the areas they serve have grown.
"The population between Carbon and Monroe counties has at least doubled during that time period, which meant in order to serve or answer more calls, we needed more troopers," said State Police Lehighton Commander Sgt. Brian Vadell.
"Crowded, yeah, sometimes it seemed a little cluttered. There wasn't much room to work at some points," said Trooper Justin Magluilo.
Station Commander Sgt. Brian Vadell gave us a rare look behind locked doors.
There are new offices, with more than double the work space, equipment storage to hold radios, radar equipment and other materials that used to just sit on the floor.
Officers say it's helping them get their work done much faster.
"We're lucky enough to have more computers and we're able to get our reports done and more time on the road and respond to calls," said Trooper Magluilo.
State Police Lehighton not only have more space than they did here at the old barracks, but also more security.
A sally port gives them a new way to bring in suspects and secure benches in every room help keep troopers from needing to keep move people in custody around, while interviewing, questioning and processing.
"Every time you detach someone from a bench or something, you have the risk of getting into some sort of confrontation, which is always bad for everybody," said Sgt. Vadell.
Arraignments can be done virtually from anywhere now with portable video conferencing equipment.
Troopers said all these measures are boosting morale and only hope the community benefits from the new barracks as much as they are.
"I hope that the people enjoy the place, it's for them, and we hope to better service them in the future," said Sgt. Vadell.